The University of California, Davis Energy Efficiency Center, in collaboration with the Center for Entrepreneurship, Institute of Transportation, and the Energy Institute has launched the Program for International Energy Technologies (PIET), whose mission is to accelerate the development, design, and dissemination of low-cost, clean energy and energy efficient solutions in residential and small-scale commercial markets in underdeveloped countries and within under-served communities.

We view this as a two-way learning process and aim to establish a long-term vision and commitment with community partners to ensure sustainability.

The main objectives of this initiative are to: 

• Build an on-going program that will educate and engage University of California, Davis students in energy-related issues in underserved communities in developing countries.  Initial target countries are Guatemala and Zambia. 
• Bridge the current gap between the need for more efficient, reliable, low-cost, and environmentally sound energy supplies in residential homes, public buildings, and light industry with enhancing technological innovation and creating market-based entrepreneurial dissemination strategies for appropriate energy technologies in  underdeveloped countries.
• Allow student teams to explore and tackle real world problems, and find and create timely solutions which serve to create a positive impact on partner communities through development, design, and dissemination of appropriate products and programs that make low-cost, clean energy readily available.

Energy Efficiency Center, Emerging Venture Analyst, Kurt Kornbluth is PI for this program. He can be reached at kkorn@ucdavis.edu

University of California, Davis

D-Lab

The University of California, Davis Energy Efficiency Center, in collaboration with the Center for Entrepreneurship, Institute of Transportation Studies, and the Energy Institute, is working with the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to develop a 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.  Initial projects are in Zambia and Guatemala.

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 (PIET) was established to address energy security, environmental degradation, and public health concerns in developing countries. Projects underway include:

Africa - Lighting the Way

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 through existing market-based mechanisms. The University of California, Davis Energy Efficiency Center, Center for Entrepreneurship and the Energy Institute will work together to implement this project, initially focusing efforts on product and dissemination models and a pilot in Zambia.

Guatemala - Low Cost Community Biogas

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) and XelaTeco (http://www.aidg.org/), local partners in Quezaltenego, Guatemala, the University of California, Davis PIET is investigating the viability of creating a community biogas utility. Activities include design and study for a mass-produced modular biogas digester, generator conversion and testing, and business plan development.

Galapagos Islands - Load Leveling

The Galapagos Islands are phasing in solar and wind energy in order to serve increasing electrical demand and reduce environmental impacts. The University of California, Davis Program for International Energy Technologies is working 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. Activities include system modeling, field research, and pilot installations.