SRP, ASU launch research grant to support renewable energy
Salt River Project (SRP) and the Conservation and Renewable Energy Collaboratory (CREC) at ASU’s College of Technology and Innovation (CTI) have partnered to award grant funding for research and professional development initiatives in the areas of renewable energy and conservation.
This year the SRP-CREC grant selected three research projects for funding. The projects cover areas of emphasis that were outlined as priorities in sustainability and renewable energy.
“The research environment at CTI is defined by the real-world challenges our industry partners face,” said Mitzi Montoya, vice provost and dean of CTI. “The SRP-CREC grant program provides a platform for applied research through our faculty and facilities.”
In addition to its partnership with CREC, SRP has engaged with CTI on the college’s iProjects program. iProjects pair senior-level students with industry mentors to find solutions to real-world problems. Last year a student team worked with SRP employees to develop a microgrid system that will make solar and other alternative energy sources more reliable. This year a group of undergraduate students are investigating the potential use of algae to remove carbon dioxide from coal-fired power plant emissions.
“We are excited about this new research agreement with CTI. It builds on our longstanding research partnership with ASU, and will allow us to address important issues affecting SRP and our customers in areas where CTI’s faculty have significant expertise,” said John Sullivan, SRP’s associate general manager and chief resources executive. “This year’s projects involve innovative research in the long-term performance of solar photovoltaic systems, the efficiency of solar hot water heating systems, and the performance of batteries in arid climates.”
Solar hot water system testing and evaluation program at ASU Polytechnic
Researcher: Brad Rogers
The use of solar-assisted hot water systems has the potential to significantly reduce residential use of electricity. However, accurate data on the performance of installed units is elusive, as are data on the reliability and failure rates of the systems. A solar hot water testing facility has been developed by ASU through SRP’s support to address this issue. Two commercial systems installed at ASU’s Polytechnic campus are automatically controlled to simulate water usage of a family of four and measure process variables. The endurance test will characterize and compare the energy of the solar-assisted system to a control system.
Performance degradation and reliability evaluation of SRP’s Solar Photovaltaic Systems
Govindasamy Tamizhmani
Photovoltaic (PV) system installations continue to rise, making measuring and predicting their performance, reliability and availability more important to installers, integrators, investors and owners. Monitoring and analyzing the performance degradation and reliability of existing PV systems is essential to predicting the same for future systems. The ASU Photovoltaic Reliability Laboratory at the Polytechnic campus will evaluate the performance, reliability and availability of several solar PV power systems that SRP owns or maintains.
Reliability and performance evaluation of batteries in hot/dry climate
Arunachala Mada Kannan, Xihong Peng, Scott Pollat
State-of-charge (SoC) and state-of-health (SoH) determination is an increasingly important issue in battery technology in terms of both extending battery life and displaying the usable charge to the user before recharging and replacing. An accurate determination of SoC enables the user to manage the battery to its optimal potential. At elevated temperatures states of extremely high or low SoC can lead to irreversible damage in the battery. The main focus of this research is to develop and optimize methods to determine SoC and SoH for various types of batteries at high temperatures.