The nation's voracious appetite for
energy continues to grow, but last August's
massive power blackout—the largest ever in North America—reminded
us dramatically that we can't take our energy system
for granted. While an estimated 50 million people in
the U.S. and Canada coped with the blackout's immediate
consequences, the rest of us monitored their struggles,
knowing that only pure luck had kept us untouched this
time.
The blackout wasn't the only energy-related issue
in the news recently. High-profile leaders and average
citizens alike express growing concern over our national
energy security, the health of global ecosystems, and
our economy's dependence on nonrenewable foreign sources
of energy.
Amid the clamor and with modest fanfare, the University
launched its Initiative for Renewable Energy and the
Environment (IREE)
with the goal of becoming a leader in the field of renewable
energy. Since then, representatives from IT and other
colleges have been assembling an organizational structure
to support the initiative's goals and coordinate its
efforts.
IREE will link faculty across the University whose research supports or complement its goals. To date we've organized four integrated research clusters focused on six critical areas: hydrogen generation, storage, and transport; bio-based materials and energy; ecosystems; conservation and efficient consumption of energy resources; economic analysis of alternative energy; and public policy related to alternative energy.
IT faculty who are cluster co-leaders include mechanical
engineering professors Jane Davidson (hydrogen) and
David Kittelson (bioenergy and bioproducts); electrical
and computer engineering professor Ned Mohan (conservation
and efficient energy systems); and chemical engineering
and materials science professors Lanny Schmidt (hydrogen),
William Smyrl (hydrogen), and Ken Keller (policy, economics,
and ecosystems), who also serves as director of the
Humphrey Institute's Center for Science, Technology,
and Public Policy.
IREE will emphasize Minnesota's economic development,
especially in rural areas, by capitalizing on
the state's natural and bio-based resources,
such as wind, biomass, and solar energy. We'll
also work with the private, public, and nonprofit
sectors to advance research, technology transfer,
and market development of new renewable energy
sources and products. Our integrated, "big-picture"
approach also includes science-based public policy research and commentary
on energy
issues.
The 2003 state legislature gave the IREE $10 million in one-time funding from the Renewable Development Fund (fees paid by Xcel Energy for storing spent nuclear fuel) plus five years of funding from Xcel's Conservation Improvement Program. That amount is estimated to be about $1.7¬$2 million annually. IREE will actively seek other funding sources as well.
Currently IREE is offering cluster support grants to jumpstart scholarly activities within and across clusters, seed grants to support new collaborative research projects, and special opportunity grants that are ideally suited to external partnerships.
As its core mission, the IREE will build bridges within the University and from the University to the larger community. We all have a stake in what IREE is trying to accomplish, and your ideas and participation are welcome.
