Andrea Mammoli, director, CEET


UNM Mechanical Engineering Associate Professor Andrea Mammoli is leading a team in a series of research projects involving renewable energy. The UNM School of Engi­neer­ing Cen­ter for Emerg­ing Energy Tech­nolo­gies (CEET) is col­lab­o­rating with the Public Service Company of New Mexico to inte­grate a micro­grid with PNM's dis­tri­b­u­tion sys­tems at Mesa del Sol.

Mammoli says there are several specific research projects involving collaborators within the university and with other entities.  At UNM, faculty members who are involved include Olga Lavrova, assistant pro­fes­sor, Com­puter Engi­neer­ing Tom Caudell, pro­fes­sor, Elec­tri­cal and Com­puter Engi­neer­ing, and Francesco Sorrentino,assistant pro­fes­sor, Mechan­i­cal Engi­neer­ing.

In this video, he discusses the UNM projects.

The research will be done in part at Aper­ture Cen­ter at Mesa del Sol where UNM, PNM, Mesa del Sol and Sandia National Labs are involved in a new col­lab­o­ra­tion aimed at mak­ing renew­able energy a work­able real­ity that can be incor­po­rated into the nation's elec­tri­cal grid.  UNM has office and lab space in the build­ing and will host a con­trol cen­ter oper­ated by The New Energy and Indus­trial Tech­nol­ogy and Devel­op­ment Orga­ni­za­tion (NEDO).  The con­trol cen­ter will oper­ate a micro­grid project.

The micro­grid will demon­strate the use of specialized tech­nol­ogy in a com­mer­cial building. The pur­pose of the project is to assist the exist­ing elec­tri­cal power grid in inte­grat­ing large amounts of inter­mit­tent renew­able energy. The project will enable the Aper­ture Cen­ter to respond to demand/supply sig­nals from the main power grid and allow for com­pletely inde­pen­dent oper­a­tion in emer­gency situations.

Nine Japan­ese com­pa­nies who have sup­plied more than $22 million in com­po­nents of this inno­v­a­tive sys­tem will use the project to determine how the system might work in a commercial environment. Participants include Shimizu, Toshiba, Sharp, Mei­den­sha, Fuji Elec­tric Co., Tokyo Gas Co., Mit­subishi Heavy Indus­tries, Furukawa Elec­tric Co., and Furukawa Bat­tery Co.  The project is expected to last two years.

Media Contact: Karen Wentworth (505) 277-5627; email: kwent2@unm.edu