Rodolfo Peon's Presentaton at the Fifth Annual Arizona Student Conference 2016

Second year Ph.D. Student Rodolfo Peon was invited to present his research work at the Arizona Student Energy Conference (AzSEC) on September 16th, which was hosted this year at the Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. This two-day symposium is known for gathering state’s leading renewable energy experts with graduate students from Arizona’s top universities, to discuss developments and opportunities in the fields of renewable energy science, technology and policy.  Proudly representing the ALRS program, Rodolfo Peon showed the potential benefits of using High Concentration Photovoltaic (HCPV) technology for desalination purposes; particularly in the Navajo Nation, where he is focusing his research. During his talk, emphasis was placed on the advantages of a using a water-energy nexus approach to solve the lack of these basic services at a local and global scale. As an example, it was discussed that the combination of HCPV technology with desalination, it can provide the end users with clean water, electricity and a surplus thermal energy for water heating and air conditioning. “An integral approach would imply a lower cost than trying to cover all these needs independently; thus facilitating its deployment” stated Rodolfo Peon. In addition, as part of his Research, his intention to explore different brine management alternatives, which include the use of HCPV technology for a secondary water desalination process and the use of brine in agriculture were also discussed. “My research is intended to contribute to the great work the University of Arizona desalination group has already done at the Navajo Nation” said Rodolfo Peon. “Where the ultimate goal is to come up with simple, durable and replicable solutions to provide water and energy security to the people in the Navajo Nation who have waited for that moment for generations”, he added.   The students’ session at the conference then closed with a discussion panel about the challenges and prospectives for renewable energy, which involved the participation of all the invited speakers.