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Energy Projects
Research at CEEP creates opportunities for thesis and dissertation development, as well as enabling students to pursue community and professional relationships. The Center’s research agenda evolves as a collaborative project of the faculty and students. Illustrative of CEEP’s current work in the area of Energy Policy are the following research initiatives. Information on other current and completed projects can be obtained from the Center.
JOINT INSTITUTE FOR A SUSTAINABLE ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL FUTURE
Sponsor: Blue Moon Fund, others
This multi-year project involves CEEP and several Korean universities, government research centers and non-governmental organizations in a collaborative venture, the Joint Institute for a Sustainable Energy and Environmental Future, to develop sustainable energy and environmental scenarios for East Asia. There are several phases of activity; already completed is Phase I, which identified the energy efficiency potential in South Korea and found it sufficient to justify a nuclear power moratorium for the country (the government currently plans to construct 17 new nuclear power plants by 2020). Work is now underway on Phase II, which identifies Korea’s renewable energy resources. As well, work is underway to promote solar city principles in urban development in South Korea.
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BIOENERGY FOR SUSTAINABLE RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Sponsor: Blue Moon Fund, others
The project evaluates strategies that feature bio-gasification and anaerobic digester technology on a small scale to meet local rural energy needs in a sustainable manner. Some of these strategies have been very successful in parts of rural China where pioneering programs have produced a biomass energy system often referred to as the 4 in 1 system, which utilizes agricultural wastes and comprises of a greenhouse, animal house, outhouse and bio-digester. Questions concerning the economic, environmental and health effects of “4-in-1” systems for rural livelihoods are being examined under this project.
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WIND ENERGY FOR RURAL LIVELIHOODS: A COLLABORATION MODEL
Sponsor: CEEP Gift Funds
After 10 years of work/learning on wind-PV hybrid strategies in rural Western China, CEEP is collaborating with groups in India, the Dominican Republic and elsewhere to investigate small wind technology (300 – 400 W) for use in off-grid applications in rural communities.
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TRANSFORMING POWER: ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIETY IN CONFLICT
Sponsor: CEEP Discretionary Funds
Volume 9 of Transaction Publishers ‘Energy and Environmental Policy Series’ (the series is under the editorial direction of CEEP) addresses energy transformation as a social project. This edited volume features leading scholars’ assessments of a range of critical issues in the energy debate, such as the implications for governance, community development, and social relations, of the forthcoming transition to a solar economy. Contributors include Joan Martinez-Alier, Joy Clancy, Michael Klare, Navroz Dubash and Peter Bosshard.
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RENEWABLE ENERGY APPLICATIONS FOR DELAWARE YEARLY (READY)
Sponsor: Delaware Public Service Commission and the Delaware Division of the Public Advocate
This multi-year project annually launches projects to investigate practical ways to develop and promote renewable energy in the State of Delaware’s electricity sector. Project activities involve research and outreach with providers/ developers, public agencies, NGOs, and consumers.
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SUSTAINABLE ENERGY UTILITY (SEU)
Sponsor: CEEP Funding
The project aims to evaluate the feasibility of creating a Sustainable Energy Utility that will provide energy efficiency and renewable energy services to all energy end-users. Energy suppliers are highly organized and effective at delivering their products, while energy users who are interested in improving energy efficiency and/or applying renewable energy face a fragmented array of technologies, companies, and financing mechanisms. The SEU is conceived as the point-of-contact for energy efficiency and on-site renewable energy services in the same way that a utility is the point-of-contact for conventional energy supply. An SEU can help reduce electricity customer's utility bills, avert energy price volatility, and encourage increased local investment in customer-sited renewable energy technologies, while shifting energy systems toward environmentally and socially sustainable foundations.
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THE HYDROGEN ECONOMY: PROSPECTS AND PROBLEMS
Sponsor: BP Foundation, NSF-IGERT and others
There is growing interest in a global paradigm shift from the current energy system to a hydrogen economy. This multi-year project examines the prospects for and problems with a transition to hydrogen energy technologies and the implications for developed and developing countries. The research aims to provide a description and analysis of public policy options to promote the development and operation of a hydrogen economy. Particular attention is given to the production of hydrogen from renewable energy sources such as solar energy. The sustainability of alternate hydrogen pathways is analyzed.
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