The CoolClimate Calculator has been designed to help US households evaluate their complete climate footprints, including all direct and indirect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transportation, household energy, food, goods and services. See the calculator
Planning low-cost, high-penetration renewable energy investments through application of the Switch computational model.
With Switch (a loose acronym for Solar, Wind, Hydro and Conventional generators and Transmission), one can explore development options for the future electricity grid throughout the United States. The model identifies cost-effective investment decisions for meeting future electricity demand, taking into account the existing grid as well as projections of future fuel costs, technological developments, renewable energy potential, and proposed policies. Early results for California indicate the state's Renewable Portfolio Standard can be met with no additional cost to consumers. We are actively expanding the model to the rest of the United States as well as gathering data for China.
How many jobs can renewable energy sources and energy efficiency generate as a function of RPS and demand scenarios to 2030? In this project, we synthesize data from 15 jobs studies to build an analytical job calculator for the U.S. power sector. We also include low carbon sources such as nuclear power and carbon capture and storage.
NEW! Green Jobs Report available for download below: "Putting Renewables and Energy Efficiency To Work: How Many Jobs Can The Clean Energy Industry Generate in the U.S.?"
In conjunction with the Energy & Information Technologies Laboratory and the Laboratory for Manufacturing and Sustainability in Mechanical Engineering, our research aims to develop a Rankine cycle heat engine system which will convert sunlight to heat at 60-80% solar-thermal efficiency and electricity at 8-10% solar-electric efficiency using concentrating solar collectors. In contrast to photovoltaic systems which cost ~$7/Watt [Solarbuzz, 2007] of generator rated peak electrical output, in mass production the proposed collector and generator system sized at 1-10kW would cost ~$4/Watt electricity or $0.80/Watt heat, allowing adjustment of heat and electrical output on demand. Considering that 112 MW of grid-connected PV was installed in the U.S. in 2006, there is a large proven market for solar energy. With widespread market penetration, this system would reduce greenhouse gas and criteria pollutant emissions from electricity generation and heating for a significant portion of the developed and developing world.
The project focuses on improving water quality for people in developing areas where other water treatment methods are not applied consistently because of their cost, inconvenience, complexity, or energy requirements. The goal of the UV-Tube Project is to design and promote the UV-Tube—an affordable, simple, and easy to use household water disinfection device that uses ultraviolet (UV-C) light to inactivate pathogens.
More Information about UV-Tube: Ultraviolet Water Disinfection
We offer our consulting services as a research lab by creating renewable energy resource maps. We are using ESRI’s GIS visualization software, ArcMap to create maps of the energy resources in a given location along with geographic and political land exclusions. Work is currently underway on creating a regional wind energy blueprint for Santa Barbara and the Channel Islands area. This blueprint consists of both a comprehensive assessment of the potential for wind power in the region and also a rigorous discussion of how to best promote this resource's utilization. The gross and technical potential as well as top wind farm sites are being quantified using a wind mapping tool developed in RAEL. Future plans to create a similar blueprint for Alameda and Marin Counties are being discussed.
Image: Clip of Wind Resource Map in Santa Barbara County, CA
Contact: Dan Prull
A number of cities and counties across the U.S. are launching programs to finance renewable energy and energy efficiency upgrades for homes and businesses. RAEL is supporting these efforts through research, consulting, and the creation of educational tools. This project focuses on what we call Property-Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) which covers the up-front costs for energy efficiency improvements and installation of solar energy systems for residential and commercial properties within a city or county.
The “KUUTE” stove, developed in Tanzania and made by local artisans, is twice as efficient as prevalent improved charcoal stoves. However, many well- engineered stoves have failed to impact livelihoods, as they are not adopted by households. The Blum Center is supporting research on cost-effective dissemination methods.
Small-scale wind turbines help address a global need for cheap, reliable distributed energy. The market for these small (0.1 -10 kW) turbines ranges from remote off-grid locations to residential systems and grid-tied commercial applications. In recent years, the wind market has seen a rapid increase with a 28% annual growth rate and over 60 GW of installed capacity worldwide. However, small wind turbines only account for an estimated 30 MW or 0.05% of this capacity.
