• Build an on-going multi-disciplinary program that will educate and engage UC Davis students in energy-related issues in underserved communities in developing countries.
• Bridge the current gap between the need, existing technologies, and the market by creating entrepreneurial strategies for dissemination in developing countries.
• Allow student teams to create a positive impact by working with partner communities to identify and address local energy business opportunities.
• Promote energy efficiency, mitigate climate change and environmental impacts, and advance energy independence in developing countries.
• Provide technical training and support for advancement in adoption of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies worldwide.

Energy issues in developing countries are multi-layered and complex and require innovative, holistic solutions. PIET assembles motivated student teams and staff mentors from business, engineering, and the physical social sciences and encourages them to think critically using the “Four Lenses of Sustainability”.

Based on locally expressed, current needs of partner communities and the expertise available within PIET and its affiliates, the program’s current focus is in the following areas:

• Off-grid lighting and micro-power.
• Agricultural including pumping, irrigation and post-harvest.
• Renewable energy including solar, biogas and wind.
• Domestic electricity use and energy efficiency.

The University of California, Davis Energy Efficiency Center, in collaboration with the Center for Entrepreneurship, Institute of Transportation Studies, and the Energy Institute, the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA), and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a two-part series of courses to educate and involve university students in energy issues in developing countries. Curriculum includes lectures, guest speakers, case studies, and hands-on lab modules. Throughout the year, students network with international partner communities to help solve real-life problems in developing countries.

Current Projects

The need to encourage low-cost, clean technologies in developing countries is critical from both a public health and quality of life stand point as well as from a global energy and environment perspective. The EIA predicts that by 2010 energy consumption and greenhouse gas production from non-OECD countries will surpass that of the OECD countries. Meanwhile, over 1 billion people in developing countries suffer from adverse health impacts from burning resource intense and environmentally unsustainable energy sources such as kerosene, dung, coal, and wood burning for lighting and cooking. The UC Davis Program for International Energy Technologies was established to address energy security, environmental degradation, and public health concerns in developing countries. Projects underway include:

Current diesel-powered furrow irrigation systems in Djibouti are both expensive and inefficient, having negative impacts on the job and food security of farmers. UC D-Lab students have evaluated the alternatives of solar energy pumping and drip irrigation for small-scale animal husbandry and high-value crops and found that a hybrid energy drip system may be the most economically beneficial road to environmental sustainability. The project is now determining the funding and logistics for importing solar and drip irrigation equipment to Djibouti, and devising formal experiments of crop production using the proposed system.

Biogas, (composed of methane and CO₂) is a renewable fuel produced from the degradation of animal manure, human waste, food waste or other organic matter. Community-scale biogas digesters can treat waste as well as produce sufficient biogas for cooking or be used with a converted gasoline or diesel generator to produce electricity. Working with Appropriate Infrastructure Development group (AIDG), PIET is investigating the viability of creating community biogas utilities in Haiti and Guatemala. Activities include design and study for a mass-produced modular biogas digester, generator conversion and testing, and business plan development.

The goal of this World Bank funded project is the design and distribution of an inexpensive, modular solar LED lighting system that can displace or supplement kerosene lighting in Sub-Saharan Africa and Bangladesh through existing market-based mechanisms. Through UC D-Lab, students have had the opportunity to study dissemination models and pilot strategy for a prototype developed in conjuction with the California Lighting Technology Center (CLTC), which is currently being field tested with consumer groups in the markets of interest.

Water heating via "calentador"—a showerhead that heats water using electrical resistance—is popular among Central American counties, but contributes to high long-term household energy costs as well as daily load spikes on the energy grid. This project has investigated the current number in use, energy consumption, safety, and regional energy policies related to the devices in search of opportunities for improvement. More extensive market metrics are being collected, currently available "calentadors" are being performance tested, and other heating solutions are being considered.

Located in a country with the goal of being first in the world to be completely Carbon-neutral, the Monteverde Institute is highly interested in implementing an exemplary energy system in its current and proposed facilities for students visiting from across the globe. The project has assessed the potential for small-scale electricity production and recommended energy efficiency measures for a proposed dormitory expansion. A group of D-Lab students is in the process of conducting a more detailed energy audit on-site to refine and implement the recommended energy scheme. Future opportunities include improvement of energy efficiency for current infrastructure, assessment of water use and recapture, and assessment of energy use in transportation.

The Galapagos Islands are phasing in solar and wind energy in order to serve increasing electrical demand and reduce environmental impacts. PIET worked with the local utility, EleGalapagos, to implement innovative methods for energy storage and load shifting to overcome the traditional hybrid grid issues of energy storage and spinning reserve vs. reliability. A detailed report on the project can be found here.