Renewable Energy Sources Research

The center will focus on harnessing power from nontraditional energy sources. Detailed models of geothermal activity, regional weather, and oceanographic patterns developed in the campus’ SUNY-wide Marine Sciences Research Center will be used to explore the use of renewable energy sources. Emphasis will be placed on natural resources which are abundant in the Northeast region of the country, such as wind, water, geothermal, and ocean energy. Biomass is another source of renewable energy, which is plentiful in our region, easily stored and safely transported, but whose potential for energy generation and efficient combustion has not been fully explored. Solar energy, though less abundant in the Northeast, can never the less be efficiently harnessed using advanced technologies. In collaboration with Albany Nano Tech nanofabrication facility, we will focus on design and fabrication of highly powerful photovoltaic cells using nanostructured composites and semiconductors such as amorphous silicon, CdTe, and Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)2.