Graduate students in our program are involved in a number of exciting projects. Some projects are local initiatives, while others have a national or international focus. The common threads that run through them all are innovative thinking, hands-on learning, and a commitment to solving problems related to energy, the environment, and society. The descriptions below provide a few examples.
Solar Radiation Monitoring Station (SoRMS)
The Solar Radiation Monitoring Station (SoRMS) at HSU was developed under the initiative of graduate students Juliette Bohn, Andrea Allen, Ranjit Deshmukh, Peter Johnstone, and Colin Ritter. They were assisted in the effort by a number of other students from the Renewable Energy Student Union (RESU). The station is designed to collect detailed data about the solar energy resource in California's North Coast Region.
The project's primary instruments are two Eppley brand Precision Spectral Pyranometers, which measure the intensity of solar radiation. One is configured to measure overall intensity on a horizontal surface; the other is fitted with a shadow band to collect only the diffuse (or scattered) component of the solar radiation. Combined, the two measurements enable complete characterization of the solar resource. The solar data collected by the station at HSU are included in the National Solar Radiation Database (NSRDB), which is managed by U.S. Department of Energy's Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). To view HSU's solar data on NREL's site, click here.
Solar Photovoltaic Module Testing
Solar photovoltaic (PV) technology is moving from the margins into the mainstream in markets from North America and Europe to Africa, Asia, and Latin America. While the rapid growth of solar markets around the world is based largely on sales of high performance PV modules, the presence of low quality products in some markets creates cause for concern.
Faculty and students from HSU have played a central role in efforts to ensure the quality of solar modules sold in the Kenya solar market. The work has involved laboratory testing at HSU as well as field testing of solar equipment in Kenya, and the results have been published in academic journals as well as the Kenya based Solarnet magazine. The project has made a very real difference, as sales of the lowest quality brands of solar modules in the Kenya market have declined sharply.
The Mexico Biogas Program
The objective of the International Renewable Resources Institute Mexico (IRRI-Mexico) Biogas Program is to increase the use of anaerobic biogas digestion systems among small and medium scale farmers in Mexico. The systems convert organic waste (e.g. from pig farms) into energy. Energy, Environment, and Society student Alex Eaton, who is also the executive director of IRRI-Mexico, manages the program in conjunction with his master's thesis research on biodigester systems. Through this project Alex is exploring the potential to fund small and medium scale renewable energy systems, with a focus on anaerobic biogas digestors, through emerging carbon markets.
The goal is to identify funding mechanisms that would support carbon emissions reductions at the community level, while simultaneously supporting improvements in productivity and quality of life for small and medium scale farming families in Mexico. The Mexico Biogas Program also holds installation workshops to establish pilot projects in a number of different regions of the country, and then examines the social acceptance, dissemination, and performance of the systems. Alex's work on this project is supported in part through a Switzer Foundation Fellowship.
Renewable Energy System for the Rock Creek Ranch
The Rock Creek Ranch is located on the South Fork of the Smith River in Northern California. It is the "field office" of the Smith River Alliance (SRA), a non-profit organization whose mission "...is to provide for the long-term protection, restoration, and stewardship of natural resources in the Smith River watershed." The Ranch is located in an off-grid area, and until now power has been provided with a gasoline fueled generator. In the Fall of 2006, students in the Engineering 475 class (Renewable Energy Power Systems) worked with SRA to develop a set of renewable energy system designs for the site. In the Spring, Summer, and Fall of 2007, students from the Renewable Energy Student Union (RESU) worked with the SRA and Scurfield Solar to install the system.
The renewable energy system provides power to two different buildings at the Rock Creek Ranch. During the summer months, the bulk of the energy for the system is generated by a 1.15 kW solar photovoltaic array. During the winter months, a 600 Watt micro-hydroelectric system that is driven by a seasonal stream provides most of the electricity. The gasoline generator is used occasionally as a backup source of power. The electrical energy from all three generation sources is stored in independent battery banks that are located at each of the two buildings. The system design includes a novel method of "transporting" renewable energy between the two buildings, which are separated by a distance of 700 feet, via 120 VAC lines. The development of this project provided graduate and undergraduate students with an excellent opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the design and installation of an off-grid renewable energy system.
Off-Grid Lighting in Kenya
Lighting from kerosene, candles, and other fuels can be dirty, dangerous, inefficient, and expensive, but it nonetheless serves as the primary source of illumination for nearly one in four people worldwide. Electric lanterns based on white light emitting diode (WLED) technology are now emerging as a promising substitute for fuel-based lighting in unelectrified areas of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. While WLED technology has the potential to provide superior lighting services, unresolved questions related to product quality, performance, cost, and end-user preferences could slow widespread use of the technology.
The Schatz Energy Research Center is engaged in a project to answer some of these questions in relation to the use of white light emitting diode (LED) lamps for off-grid applications in Kenya. The effort, dubbed the Lumina Project, involves collaborative work between faculty member Arne Jacobson and Evan Mills of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Graduate students Stephen Kullmann and Ranjit Deshmukh are working on the project. The work includes laboratory testing of existing WLED lighting products, as well as fieldwork in Kenya.