State approves offshore wind farm study
Feb. 9 -
The Michigan Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute, partnering with Grand Valley State University, has won a $1.3 million grant from the Michigan Public Service Commission to advance the deployment of offshore wind technology.
The two universities will explore the complex issues surrounding harnessing the wind to generate electricity.
Dennis Assanis, U-M’s energy institute director, said the challenges are both technical – better understanding wind distribution and performance of turbines buffeted by harsh weather and ice – to legislative issues such as permits and leases; to environmental impacts.
The multidisciplinary project’s concept is to collect year-round wind data at turbine height for three years, to help answer questions concerning the optimal sites for the offshore wind industry in Michigan.
The state grant will be added to $1.4 million in Department of Energy money already won by the project team. Some $5 million in private funding also is needed. Assanis said the grant will be an “attractive down payment” to industry partners to fund more expansive experiments.
“It takes places like the University of Michigan that has the capabilities to explore many related aspects of the same challenge with strong partners to make great strides,” Assanis said.
The project calls for installing a meteorological tower and research platform to collect data. As there are no offshore wind turbines in Lake Michigan, Assanis refers to this as the first “wet run” for the state.
Assanis serves on the Great Lakes Wind Council, an advisory body within the Department of Energy, Labor, and Economic Growth that provides citizens with a public forum to begin to identify where, in the Great Lakes, wind energy systems may be prudently sited.
Eight teams move on to semi-finals in 2009-2010 Clean Energy Prize competition
Jan. 29 - Eight teams touting new business ideas that include a system to enhance electric vehicle batteries, to a new method to produce a gas used in solar cell production, to plans for turning food waste into fuel all have moved on to the semi-final round of judging in the Clean Energy Prize competition.
The competition, presented by DTE Energy and the University of Michigan, challenges teams to develop business plans that promise to move a new, clean-energy technology from the laboratory to the market place. More>
Feb. 4 - Judges selected for February 12 Clean Energy Prize final rounds
Energy job candidates to present talks
Revised Jan. 27 and Jan 29
Jan. 22 - As part of the University of Michigan’s significant, aggressive and strategic commitment to create multidisciplinary teams charged with one of the most pressing challenges – energy – candidates will be on campus over the next four weeks to deliver talks.
The four candidates for junior tenure-track faculty positions, their background and their talks are listed below. Those wishing to meet with the candidates may contact Energy Institute associate director Carl Simon at cpsimon@umich.edu.
- Shaun McRae, Stanford University
Wed. Jan. 27, 11:40 a.m.
"Infrastructure Quality and the Subsidy Trap" - Deepak Rajagopa, University of California – Berkeley
Wed. Feb. 3, 4 p.m. - Nirupama Rao, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Thu. Feb. 11, 4 p.m. - Ashley Langer, University of California – Berkeley
Wed. Feb. 17, 11:40 a.m. - Visit here for additional information for the presentations shown above.
Four candidates for the energy storage cluster hire in the School of Natural Resources and the Environment are presenting seminars beginning Feb. 1.
The position seeks expertise in energy technology assessment to analyze alternative energy supply based on renewable sources, energy demand from transportation and/or buildings as well as the storage and carriers required to link resources with end use activities.
The candidates are:
- Shelie Miller, Clemson University
Mon., Feb. 1, 4 p.m.
1046 Dana Building
"Beyond Carbon: Assessing the Impacts of Emerging Bioenergy Systems"
- Jason Hill, University of Minnesota
Mon., Feb. 8, 4 p.m.
1046 Dana Building
Topic: TBA
- Jeffrey Bielicki , Oak Ridge National Laboratory and University of Tennessee
Mon., Feb. 15, 4 p.m.
1046 Dana Building
Topic: TBA
- Jarod Kelly, University of Michigan
Tues., Feb. 23, 4 p.m.
1024 Dana Building
Topic: TBA
More energy highlights February 09, 2010
Jan. 07 - More power from small engines - Electricity won't replace gas for a long time
Dec. 18 - Energy Institute names first associate director for science and technology
Dec. 18 - Energy firm shows Michigan can be an entrepreneural hotbed
Dec. 11 - BEC and Energy Institute jointly hire to strengthen partnerships
Dec. 08 - Department of Energy announces fellows program for advance research energy projects
Dec. 07 - ARPA-E allocates an additional $100M for 3 areas in transformational energy research
Nov. 20 - As nuclear reactor fleet ages, engineers ask, 'Is 80 the new 40?'
Nov. 03 - Grant supports smart materials to heat up car efficiency
Nov. 13 - New U-M $10-million DOE center to focus on plasma research