Sustainability Commons^™

Sunvelope: A Nevada Company Revolutionizes Solar Hot Water Collectors, Nevada Institute For Renewable Energy Commercialization (Nirec)

Nevada Newsflash

Solar hot water is just not sexy to the general public—and that’s created a challenge for Pete Mokler, director of marketing at Sunvelope Solar. “Our technology can deliver more energy units per dollar invested—whether counted in therms, BTUs, or kilowatt hours—than photovoltaic, wind, geothermal and biomass,” says Mokler, “but you say ‘solar hot water’ and people yawn.”

Nevada's Top Energy Industry Representatives Call For More Collaboration And Education, Nevada Institute For Renewable Energy Commercialization (Nirec)

Nevada Newsflash

More than 75 representatives from every sector of Nevada’s energy industry gathered at Reno’s Desert Research Institute last week to discuss energy challenges facing the Silver State, opportunities available and actions needed to lead the West and the nation in renewable energy generation, transmission and delivery.

La Contaminación Intradomiciliaria Por Combustibles En Las Casas De La Ix Región De Chile, Hannah Bewsey

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Fresh air: a natural and necessary commodity, and yet one that is missing from many of the world’s households. In rural communities and in the developing world, indoor air pollution is a very real health burden, constituting a factor in 2.5 million deaths every year. The homes of the IX Region of Chile are particularly disposed to indoor pollution, due to the use of biomass fuels for cooking and heating during the cold winter months. This investigation aims to supplement the relatively scarce amount of literature investigating the use of biomass fuels that contribute to indoor pollution in this region. …

Hydro Power, People Power: Hydroelectricity’S Potential For Community Development, With A Focus On The Khimti 1 Project, Amelia Prior

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Hydropower, a source of renewable energy that transforms water into electricity, has great potential in Nepal. It can be used to electrify homes, increase efficiency of agriculture, and improve businesses to spur economic growth. This research will examine the current status of hydropower in Nepal and the main obstacles to its expansion. More importantly, however, is the importance on developing hydropower responsibly and ethically. Harnessing the energy and generating electricity is not enough; hydropower projects should involve their surrounding communities, affecting genders, ethnic groups, and socio-economic classes equally. This research will examine how communities are affected by hydroelectricity projects and …

Economics Of Nuclear Power And Climate Change Mitigation Policies, Nico Bauer, Robert J. Brecha, Gunnar Luderer

Physics Faculty Publications

The events of March 2011 at the nuclear power complex in Fukushima, Japan, raised questions about the safe operation of nuclear power plants, with early retirement of existing nuclear power plants being debated in the policy arena and considered by regulators. Also, the future of building new nuclear power plants is highly uncertain. Should nuclear power policies become more restrictive, one potential option for climate change mitigation will be less available. However, a systematic analysis of nuclear power policies, including early retirement, has been missing in the climate change mitigation literature. We apply an energy economy model framework to derive …

Startup Weekend; Hooking Up For Economic Growth, Nevada Institute For Renewable Energy Commercialization (Nirec)

Nevada Newsflash

The Startup Weekend, a national grassroots business-launching event, is coming to Northern Nevada, September 28-30, 2012. Startup Weekend Elko will connect local entrepreneurs, developers, designers and startup enthusiasts with mentors and resources for a weekend of sharing ideas, forming teams and launching startups. The weekend-long event will take place at the Great Basin College campus in Elko.

Special Edition: National Clean Energy Summit, Nevada Institute For Renewable Energy Commercialization (Nirec)

Nevada Newsflash

Young Professionals in Energy–Nevada recently gathered for an up-to-the-day report on renewable energy at UNLV’s LEED-certified Science and Engineering Building given by Associate Vice President for Interdisciplinary Research Tom Piechota—just hours after President Obama appeared on campus in support of higher education.

Piechota, who also heads UNLV’s Urban Sustainability Initiative (and is this author’s boss in that capacity), covered all the overlapping curriculum and research going on. Of about 400 total research projects university-wide, 142 involve clean energy, water or environmental science – some at the nexus of all three. Department of Energy remains the biggest source of funding, along …

Development And Dissemination Of Clean Cookstoves: A Model Law For Developing Countries, Lakshman Guruswamy Ed.

Drafting Model Laws on Indoor Pollution for Developing and Developed Nations (July 12-13)

24 pages.

"This model law was developed at a legislative drafting workshop on July 12-13, 2012, entitled Drafting Model Laws on Indoor Pollution for Developing and Developed Nations, which was sponsored by the Center for Energy & Environmental Security and the Colorado Natural Resources, Energy & Environmental Law Review at the University of Colorado Law School in Boulder, Colorado." Excerpted from 24 Colo. Nat. Resources, Energy & Envtl. L. Rev. 331 (2013).

Development And Dissemination Of Clean Cookstoves: A Model Law For Developed Countries, Scott Miller

Drafting Model Laws on Indoor Pollution for Developing and Developed Nations (July 12-13)

21 pages.

"This model law was developed at a legislative drafting workshop on July 12-13, 2012, entitled Drafting Model Laws on Indoor Pollution for Developing and Developed Nations, which was sponsored by the Center for Energy & Environmental Security and the Colorado Natural Resources, Energy & Environmental Law Review at the University of Colorado Law School in Boulder, Colorado."-- Excerpted from 24 Colo. Nat. Resources, Energy & Envtl. L. Rev. 355 (2013).

"Scott Miller ed."

Agenda: Drafting Model Laws On Indoor Pollution For Developing And Developed Nations, University Of Colorado Boulder. Center For Energy & Environmental Security, Colorado Natural Resources, Energy And Environmental Law Review

Drafting Model Laws on Indoor Pollution for Developing and Developed Nations (July 12-13)

On July 12 and 13, 2012, experts convened at Colorado Law to demonstrate the extent to which a model law could help address the global problem of indoor air pollution from inefficient cook stoves. The air pollution that results from inefficiently burning biomass as fuel for cooking has serious health and climatic consequences. The workshop produced two sets of Model Laws and commentaries to help nations solve the problem, and the commentaries were published in the Colorado Natural Resources, Energy, and Environmental Law Review.

Drafting Model Laws On Indoor Pollution For Developing And Developed Nations Workshop, July 12-13, 2012, Boulder, Colorado: Introduction, Lakshman Guruswamy

Drafting Model Laws on Indoor Pollution for Developing and Developed Nations (July 12-13)

11 pages.

"This Essay introduces the framework for deliberation and legislative drafting undertaken at the workshop: Drafting Model Laws on Indoor Pollution for Developing and Developed Nations on July 12-13, 2012, in Boulder, Colorado. There are a number of fundamental premises upon which the workshop was based, and this Essay refers to the most salient among them."-- Excerpted from 24 Colo. Nat. Resources, Energy & Envtl. L. Rev. 319 (2013).

Solar Light Bulb, David G. Guzman, Virgilio Gonzalez

COURI Symposium Abstracts, Summer 2012

The Solar Lighting project is a work driven towards building a low-cost and environmental-friendly solar bulb and to understanding the science behind its behavior. A solar light bulb refers to a device capable of absorbing and transferring solar energy to light up an enclosed area. By using the physical properties of fluids and light is possible to manipulate solar light waves to illuminate an enclosed structure. Moreover, this project attempts to utilize recycled materials that reduce the cost of such device, helping not only the planet but also the costumer’s pocket. The ultimate goal for this project is to scientifically …

Pv Costs Overestimated - High-Impact Innovation, Nevada Institute For Renewable Energy Commercialization (Nirec)

Nevada Newsflash

Current accounting methods often over-estimate the lifetime costs of generating electricity from solar panels, according to “Reconsidering the Economics of Photovoltaic Power.” This new working paper, written by 10 authors with insight into the economics of solar power, appeared on the website Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF).

Agenda: A Low-Carbon Energy Blueprint For The American West, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center, University Of Colorado Boulder. Renewable And Sustainable Energy Institute, Western Resource Advocates, Rocky Mountain Research Station (Fort Collins, Colo.)

A Low-Carbon Energy Blueprint for the American West (Martz Summer Conference, June 6-8)

The future of the planet may depend upon our ability to increase energy supplies even as we reduce carbon emissions. This conference will address how a low-carbon energy program might evolve with a particular focus on the American West. It will focus on the future of energy in the West--on a “managed transition” to a different energy mix, on the need to nest this effort in a framework that acknowledges interconnections, and on identifying the most salient opportunities to consider the legal, political, financial, and technical challenges.

Nevada Grown, Cutting Edge Clean Energy Innovation Please, Nevada Institute For Renewable Energy Commercialization (Nirec)

Nevada Newsflash

The Nevada chapter of Young Professionals in Energy (YPE Nevada) seeks to facilitate the advancement of mid-career energy professionals in the state of Nevada through social, educational, vocational and community service events. YPE Nevada aims to build a cohesive network of energy professionals from students to retired executives, and to create an environment where members can learn from each other’s experiences, share industry knowledge and discuss career matters. By expanding networking between the state’s energy professionals, it aims to enhance entrepreneurial activity.

Unlv Students To Build Zero Net Energy Home; Boom & Bust Report, Nevada Institute For Renewable Energy Commercialization (Nirec)

Nevada Newsflash

Design and build an approximately 800 square foot home that consumes zero net energy.

Those are the instructions for Team Las Vegas, after the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) became one of only 20 schools worldwide to quality for the 2013 Solar Decathlon, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

UNLV’s entry, Autonomy House, is marketed as an “age-in-place” home for an empty nester whose children have grown up. The 730-squarefoot home will use daylighting from windows, insulation and solar panels to produce more energy than it consumes. Additionally, it will filter rainwater for household …

The Full Cost Of Renewables: Managing Wind Integration Costs In California, William Savage

Pomona Senior Theses

Wind power will be an important component of California's aggressive strategies to meet its greenhouse gas reduction targets by the year 2020. However, the costs of integrating wind power's variable and uncertain output are often ignored. I argue that California must take prudent action to understand, minimize, and allocate wind integration costs. A review of numerous studies suggests that for wind penetration levels below 20%, integration costs should remain modest. However, costs are heavily dependent on market structure, and I suggest numerous ways that California can optimize its market design to manage wind integration costs.

Join Nevada's Newly Formed Networking Group For All Energy Professionals, Nevada Institute For Renewable Energy Commercialization (Nirec)

Nevada Newsflash

“YPE Nevada is designed to engage Nevada’s mid-career energy professionals through a variety of career-related, community service, professional education and social events to be scheduled across the entire state. ” said YPE Nevada Board Member Walt Borland, the President and CEO of NIREC that is sponsoring the launch of the new chapter. “And, we expect that this enhanced interaction will help to drive more energy-related entrepreneurial activity in Nevada.”

Environmental Critiques Of Nuclear Energy, William Hummel

Pomona Senior Theses

This essay identifies and evaluates the most common environmental critiques made against nuclear energy development. Environmentalists articulate four major concerns: the destructive effects and health risks of uranium mining; the dangers posed by radiation releases and meltdowns; the difficult of nuclear waste disposal; and national security concerns, including nuclear weapons proliferation and the possibility of attack or sabotage. By characterizing and describing these concerns, we are better able to decide which problems are most compelling, and suggest possible policy-driven solutions.

Developing A Simulation Model For Power Demand Control Analysis And Privacy Protection In Smart Grid, Sungchul Lee

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

With the growing awareness of the need for Smart Grid, various countries are taking initiatives for developing Smart Grid. However, there is limited research on utilizing Smart Grid for Power Demand Control compared to the other areas such as Smart Grid communication network or renewable energy integration. Therefore, this study attempts to help the current Outage Management System by creating a Simulator that allows an intuitive power demand control analysis. Electrical usage is simulated by taking various inputs including the number of houses, family size, work and life patterns, electrical devices, time, etc. For accurate estimate of family and life …

Identifying Optimal Cellulosic Biomass Feedstock Supply Areas For Potential Biorefineries In Arkansas, Mark Cooper

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In February 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released the revised Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2), mandating at least 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels to be produced annually in America, and blended into all on/off road, locomotive, and marine gasoline and diesel by the year 2022. America's existing biorefineries fall significantly short of being able to meet this mandate, resulting in the need for rapid expansion in the near future if this goal is to be met. The state of Arkansas has abundant resources to offer the renewable energy industry, if properly utilized. The goal of this thesis is to …

Exploring German And American Modes Of Pedagogical And Institutional Sustainability: Forging A Way Into The Future, Lindon N. Pronto

Pitzer Senior Theses

Rooted deep in Germany's past is its modern socio-political grounding for environmental respect and sustainability. This translates into individual and collective action and extends equally to the economic and policy realm as it does to educational institutions. This thesis evaluates research conducted in Germany with a view to what best approaches are transferable to the United States liberal arts setting. Furthermore, exemplary American models of institutional sustainability and environmental education are explored and combined with those from abroad to produce a blueprint and action plan fitting for the American college and university.

An Energy Professionals' Networking Group That's Creating A Buzz, Nevada Institute For Renewable Energy Commercialization (Nirec)

Nevada Newsflash

Bleary-eyed but wide awake at 2:00 am, I reached for my phone for a little social media solace. Clicking into a popular networking site, I typed "energy" in the search field. To my surprise, the search returned a list of over 10,000 options.

As professionals, entrepreneurs and affiliates to the energy industry, let me spare you an early morning quest. There is an industry-related group that has quietly built a network of members 20,000-strong with tentacles reaching throughout the U.S. and abroad.

Fourteen Years Of Sustainable Charcoal: The Case Of Ankitsakalaninaomby, Dan Raudonis

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

All over the world, different sources of energy are harnessed by populations looking to fulfill their needs, be it electricity, heating, or cooking. In Madagascar, fuel wood and wood charcoal provide the bulk of daily energy needs – for over 85% of the population they are the only available sources of domestic energy (GREEN-Mad 6). These two sources provide a cheap alternative to other fuels such as natural gas, which can be more than three times as expensive as charcoal (GREEN-Mad 51). In an impoverished country such as Madagascar, where 90% of the population live on less than two US …

Cleantech Open's $250,000 Business Competition - Learn More April 5, Nevada Institute For Renewable Energy Commercialization (Nirec)

Nevada Newsflash

Join us for an introduction to the Cleantech Open, the world's largest cleantech accelerator. You will learn about our annual Business Competition, an opportunity to accelerate your cleantech startup with expert training, national visibility and up to $250,000 of cash and services. Beyond great networking, the event will include a brief presentation about how you can get involved as a volunteer, mentor, judge or more.

The Eu, Russia, And Energy Security, Jonathan Jones

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

No abstract provided.

Slides: Natural Gas: Game Changer Or Runner Left On Base? Working To Get It Right In Co!, Gary Graham

Drawing the Blueprint for a Sustainable Natural Gas Future (January 18)

Presenter: Dr. Gary Graham, Director, Lands Program, Western Resource Advocates

21 slides

Slides: Drawing The Blueprint For A Sustainable Natural Gas Future, Mark K. Boling

Drawing the Blueprint for a Sustainable Natural Gas Future (January 18)

Presenter: Mark. K. Boling, Executive Vice-President and General Counsel, Southwestern Energy

23 slides

Slides: Current And Proposed Research Activities Addressing Health, Environmental, Economic, And Political Issues Related To Natural Gas Development, University Of Colorado. School Of Public Health. Department Of Environmental And Occupational Health

Drawing the Blueprint for a Sustainable Natural Gas Future (January 18)

Presenter: Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, University of Colorado School of Public Health

20 slides

Agenda: Drawing The Blueprint For A Sustainable Natural Gas Future, University Of Colorado At Denver. Wirth Chair In Environmental And Community Development Policy, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center. Intermountain Oil And Gas Bmp Project

Drawing the Blueprint for a Sustainable Natural Gas Future (January 18)

A stakeholder-led forum discussing the key topics affecting natural gas as a safe and sustainable energy resource. Participants learned about the current research and related resources at Colorado’s three research universities and participated in designing future research needs.