01-18-2013 BPU RPT 05 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

W A T E R E H E R 6 Y f F P RIVERSIDE PUBLIC UTILITIES Board Memorandum PUBLIC UTILITIES BOARD OF PUBLIC UTILITIES DATE: January 18, 2013 ITEM NO: 5 SUBJECT: SEIZING OUR DESTINY - THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE'S PROPOSAL FOR THE RIVERSIDE PUBLIC UTILITIES' ENERGY INNOVATIONS GRANT ISSUE: The item for Board of Public Utilities consideration is award of an Energy Innovations Grant (EIG) to the University of California Riverside (UCR) in the amount of $95,440 to fund research for new strategies to lower the cost of Si-solar cells. RECOMMENDATION: That the Board of Public Utilities approve and recommend that the City Council approve the University of California Riverside request for an Energy Innovations Grant in the amount of $95,000 for Fiscal Year 2012-13 to research new strategies to lower the cost of Si-solar cells. BACKGROUND: One of Riverside Public Utilities' (RPU) programs funded from the Public Benefits Funds is the EIG Program. This Program was developed for the funding of research, development, and demonstration programs for the public interest to advance science or technology in electric related projects in the institutions of higher education within the City of Riverside. Participation in the EIG Program is restricted to public or private post-secondary institutions whose primary activities fall within the City limits. The grant funds must comply with the relevant portions of California Public Utilities Code (PUC) Section 385 related to the use of Public Benefits Funds. The UCR has been awarded grant funds through this Program in the past for ten separate projects: 1) Clean Automated Electric Power, Heating, and Cooling from Urban Waste; 2) Novel Energy Efficient Coatings Based on Transition Metal Oxide Sol-Gel Films; 3) The Control of NOx (nitrogen oxides), Sox (sulfur oxides), and Particulate Matter in Biological Filters; 4) Polymer-zeolite nanocomposit High- temperature Proton-exchange-membrane (PEM) for Fuel Cells; 5) Low Power Operated Light Emitting Displays; 6) Solar Charged Flexible Batteries; 7) Solar Powered Prato-Type Devices; 8) the establishment of the Southern California Research Initiative for Solar Energy (SC-RISE); 9) a second request for funding to support outreach programs, research and development opportunities, and the development of strategic collaborations in the area of renewable and solar energy for SC-RISE; and 10) Miniaturized, Efficient and Low Cost Energy Storage Devices. To date, the college has received a total of$1,551,110 in grant funding through this Program. A new proposal was recently submitted for grant funding by Professor Mihri Ozkan, Department of Electrical Engineering and Professor Cengiz Ozkan, Department of Mechanical Engineering. In this proposal, the applicants believe that solar sustainable energy is one of the best potential green technologies for meeting the ever-growing energy demands of the City of Riverside. Weather conditions in Southern California places Riverside in one of the best positions to pursue utilization of solar