Renewables Power Generation

Patrick Cross
Specialist
Ocean Energy,
Program Manager (DoD)
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Renewables Power Generation

Patrick Cross (PhD, Meteorology, Naval Postgraduate School), completed a 20-year Naval officer career in submarines and meteorology/oceanography in 2006, culminating in a tour as Force Oceanographer for the Pacific submarine force based at Pearl Harbor. For the next several years, he worked with a small company managing Navy-funded research projects related to underwater acoustics, including the use of autonomous vehicles and advanced signal processing. Cross joined HNEI in the fall of 2013, initially to manage proposal efforts related to a new infusion of Navy funds to support the Wave Energy Test Site (WETS) off Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe. He is serving as program manager for this effort, coordinating research plans, providing site management assistance to US Navy and DOE sponsors, and developing new proposals relating to wave energy advancement. Additionally, Dr. Cross has undertaken the management of other HNEI projects related to renewable energy generation, including efforts in photovoltaic test beds and solar forecasting.

Luis A. Vega
Specialist
Ocean Energy,
Program Manager (DOE)
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Luis Vega is currently the manager of the Hawaii National Marine Renewable Energy Center (HINMREC) at HNEI. He holds degrees in Applied Mathematics, Aerospace Engineering and Applied Ocean Sciences from the US Naval Academy, CALTECH and the University of California. His professional experience ranges from analytical studies to laboratory scale and model basin tests as well as at-sea tests of marine renewable energy equipment. He lead the team that designed and tested an Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) experimental plant demonstrating 24/7 production of electricity and desalinated-water and obtaining operational data required for estimating realistic costs of production. He has also worked in electrification of remote villages in South Pacific Island Nations utilizing solar and wind resources and establishing a Rural Energy Service Company in the nation of Fiji.