Renewable Energy Sources

Overview

Our expertise includes advanced fossil technologies, research and development, feasibilities studies, resource assessments and project siting, market studies, project design, DesignBuild℠, implementation, and performance monitoring of installed technologies.

Success Stories

• SAIC Solar Concentrator at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas

  Under contract to the U.S. government, SAIC built a concentrating solar power generation system. Instead of using photovoltaic cells, which transform solar energy directly into electricity, solar thermal uses the sun's heat to run a generator. The project generated 25 kW at top capacity. The power generated fed into the Nevada power grid.

• Developing Renewable from Wind, Waves, and Biomass

  SAIC helped the Virginia Coastal Energy Research Consortium (VCERC) assess maritime renewable energy sources and technologies. In addition to wind, VCERC research priorities also include tidal and wave energy and the cultivation of marine algae for conversion to biodiesel and other fuels.

• Oregon Wave Energy Initiative

  SAIC helped bring together a coalition of industry, state and local government, environmental interest groups, academia, and interested citizens across the state of Oregon to fund a wave energy initiative. The effort helped Oregon identify and fund renewable marine energy technologies, and it helps in the global effort to develop renewable energy sources for the future.

• Largest Solar Community in North America

  SAIC played a major role in developing a small Canadian community into the largest solar community in North America. The 52-home Drake Landing community in Okotoks, Alberta, uses a solar-thermal design concept that SAIC helped create. The system uses energy from the summer's sun to heat water, which is stored underground for reuse in the winter. It is the largest subdivision of R-2000 single-family homes in Canada, each being 30 percent more efficient than conventional housing.

  Ninety percent of each home's space heating requirements are derived from solar energy, and each home reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 5 tons annually compared to traditional houses. Drake Landing has been recognized as the "greenest community in Canada, maybe the world" by the Canadian prime minister, Stephen Harper.

• Solar Photovoltaic Systems

  SAIC has designed and installed solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in both remote off-grid communities and grid-connected urban commercial facilities to foster energy independence and reduce consumption. We have also performed renewable energy studies and concept development for numerous municipalities, including a mixed-use net-zero energy community.

• Solar Detoxification of Contaminated Groundwater

  In an innovative application of the Earth's energy sources, SAIC developed and tested a system that will use the sun's rays to destroy contaminants in groundwater. The system is based on a technology that combines solar radiation and a catalyst to compounds that subsequently break down organic contaminants such as benzene and toluene, carcinogens commonly found in groundwater contaminated by leaking fuel tanks.

• Energy-Efficient State Office Building

  SAIC delivered award-winning engineering and design services for an energy-efficient state office building. The building, a subterranean, solar powered structure containing 237,000 square feet of total space, is designed for the Employment Development Department of the state of California. A large portion of the office space is below ground with a six story office tower mounted with solar concentrators. The subterranean design, along with up to date insulation of other areas, reduces the building's energy requirements to two thirds of the standard for federal buildings. The energy saving features, along with a massive solar slab, satisfies more than 85 percent of the building's energy needs.