Sandia National Laboratories and Mesalands Community College in Tucumcari, N.M., recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU). This agreement, which allows wind energy research to be conducted at Mesalands Community College's North American Wind Research and Training Center (NAWRTC) by Sandia, is the first of its kind between a national laboratory and a two-year college.
The arrangement will allow a blend of NAWRTC's facilities and training programs with Sandia's Wind Energy Technology Department, where work includes research on wind turbine blades, as well as reliability aspects of wind power generation.
‘Hopefully Sandia and Mesalands will work together on issues like the use of compressed air to augment wind, and on ways to store energy created at peak times from wind facilities,’ says Joanna Prukop, secretary of New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department.
The MOU allows the two organizations to cooperate in the development of new technology in the area of wind energy.
SOURCE: Mesalands Community College
