We have established a unique research group at the University of California - Berkeley for the study of distributed energy resources (DER), and to manage and promote academic, industry, public sector, and end-user education and information exchange. This research group -- the Collaboration for Interdisciplinary Distributed Energy Research (CIDER) -- will investigate DER technologies for their performance and economic/market potential, political and regulatory situation, and potential environmental and human health impacts, as well as provide a range of education and outreach programs for DER and combined heat and power (CHP) system performance and market application.

There have historically been several research groups and individual researchers studying DER and CHP at various departments at UC Berkeley and on nearby campuses and at government labs, but these efforts could benefit from greater interaction, collaboration and information exchange. CIDER has therefore been developed to:

Our vision for the further development of CIDER is to expand our research and outreach activities on DER/CHP topics for the benefit of a wide group of stakeholders, expand DER graduate research and training activities at UC Berkeley and in conjunction with other campuses, and develop a public-private partnership to support DER/CHP learning and training activities for both general and specialized audiences.

We have focused CIDER around five main research themes program areas and three outreach/demonstration program areas, but with the understanding that the research affiliates of CIDER encompass a broad array of areas of interest that in some cases are very narrowly focused on DER-related topics (e.g. detailed economics and emissions assessments of specific DER technologies such as wind and solar systems, microturbines, fuel cells, demand response systems, and so on) and in other cases broadly focused on areas that are highly relevant (e.g. development of micro-sensors and low-cost wireless transponders; basic science on indoor and outdoor air quality; combustion dynamics and emissions controls, etc.).

CIDER is taking advantage of the significant energy, information technology, basic science, and applied science research resources on the UC Berkeley campus, as well as resources at the Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). Collaborative and affiliate linkages are also being forged with UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC San Diego, Sonoma State University, Humboldt State University, and other university and community college campuses, as well as with a host of other groups working in the DG/CHP area (e.g. the U.S. Combined Heat and Power Association and the regional CHP efforts). The core faculty and staff for CIDER are already in close collaboration with many of the campus and Bay Area groups who will be involved in the wider efforts of CIDER. Within the UC Berkely campus, the collaboration involves faculty and graduate students in the Energy and Resources Group, the Civil and Environmental Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, and City and Regional Planning departments, as well as the Goldman School of Public Policy, the School of Public Health, the Haas Business School, and the University of California Energy Institute.

In one important new effort, ERG is operating the Pacific Region Combined Heat and Power Application Center (PRAC) Network as a prime contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy and the California Energy Commission’s PIER Program. This CHP education and outreach network includes as primary partners UC Berkeley, UC Irvine, and San Diego State University, but will expand to include additional partner groups partly through collaborations fostered by CIDER.

Additional current research project efforts include those focused on CHP system performance analysis, renewable energy systems, hydrogen storage and distribution, emissions from DER systems, and technical modeling of DER system operation and performance. Efforts are underway to further expand DER research opportunities and increase graduate support at UC Berkeley through a National Science Foundation IGERT grant, building further on what the CIDER collaboration has started.