DAVIS, CALIF.: The California Energy Commission will award the University of California, Davis, US$3 million to coordinate the efforts of four statewide programs to speed the transfer of renewable-energy advances from research laboratories to home and industries.
The new California Renewable Energy Collaborative will become the administrative center for three existing programs focused on biomass, geothermal and wind energy, as well as a new fourth program that will focus on solar energy. Other renewable energy sources, such as hydropower and ocean energy, may be addressed in the future.
"This new center for collaboration will help energy researchers and specialists from many different sectors work more effectively with the end users of their products -- the state's consumers and energy providers," said UC Davis engineering professor Bryan Jenkins, who is director of the UC Davis Energy Institute and will lead the new California Renewable Energy Collaborative.
He noted that the efforts of the previously established biomass, geothermal and wind collaboratives have been instrumental in shaping policy and guiding research to help the state meet its goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, decreasing reliance on petroleum, and continuing growth in renewable energy.
"Establishing a central collaborative home will help coordinate critical research and policy missions among the state's agencies, industries, and the public for meeting the challenges facing California in the transition to a more secure and sustainable energy sector," Jenkins said.
Under contract with the California Energy Commission, UC Davis has for the last six years been administrative home for the biomass and wind collaboratives. The campus is an international leader in many aspects of environmental research and education -- particularly renewable energy, climate change, sustainable agriculture, energy efficiency and conservation, and advanced transportation technology and policy.
Its renewable-energy projects include new sources of bioenergy, advanced photovoltaic materials, solar thermal systems and enhanced wind turbine design and efficiency.
Funding for the new unified California Renewable Energy Collaborative comes from the California Energy Commission's Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) Program.
"California has set aggressive goals of increasing the use of renewable energy resources. As these energy collaboratives gain momentum, coordinating them is a positive step in meeting those goals," said California Energy Commission Chairman Karen Douglas.
The collaborative's chief objective is to help California focus on the most promising and cost-effective renewable-energy initiatives by assessing resources and technologies; identifying barriers and opportunities that affect commercial success, and regulatory, economic and financial constraints; advising the California Energy Commission on strategic planning for renewable energy development; and disseminating best practices and research findings through Web sites, public forums and other methods.
Each collaborative is governed by a board with representatives from both commercial trade associations, utilities, private industry and investors, and noncommercial representatives from universities, state and federal agencies, local government, public interest associations, and environmental groups.
There are two University of California subcontractors under the agreement between UC Davis and the energy commission: The university-wide California Institute for Energy and the Environment, and the UC San Diego Center for Energy Research.
"This pioneering agreement will establish a new level of coordination and integration among the renewable-energy technologies and will accelerate the state's pivotally important renewable energy initiatives," said Ken Krich, assistant director of the California Institute for Energy and Environment.
"Energy security and economic prosperity requires deployment of an array of energy technologies that are economical and have minimum environmental impact. Collaboratives like this one play an important role of bringing together academic researchers, commercial end-users, and state regulatory agencies," said Farrokh Najmabadi, director of the UC San Diego Center for Energy Research.
The four collaboratives being united under the new California Renewable Energy Collaborative include the California Wind Energy Collaborative. Formed in 2002, its goal is to coordinate all aspects of wind energy among developers, environmental groups, electricity suppliers and government representatives.
Other collaboratives include the California Biomass Collaborative. Formed in 2003, it has more than 500 members and a diverse executive committee with 39 members representing stakeholder groups. It coordinates the development of sustainable bioenergy (including heat, power and fuels) and bio-based products by addressing challenges in feedstock supply, energy conversion, and environmental impacts.
The California Geothermal Energy Collaborative is the third collaborative. Formed in 2004, it has more than 380 members. Its conferences and meetings have identified barriers to successful geothermal energy development, including the high cost of geothermal exploration and the unknown size of geothermal resources.
The fourth collaborative, the California Solar Energy Collaborative, is intended to help California achieve an ambitious target of installing 3,000 MW of solar in California by 2017. It will analyze existing solar research; facilitate research in gap areas where existing data are insufficient; and develop consensus among key solar stakeholders based on this research by tracking the evolving landscape of solar technology development and use in California.
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