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:. AtE4' Ewf R1. T 1 1 + RIVERSIDE PUBLIC UTILITIES Board Memorandum P U 8 L I C U T I L I T I E S BOARD OF PUBLIC UTILITIES DATE: October 1, 2010 ITEM NO: 8 SUBJECT. CALIFORNIA BAPTIST UNIVERSITY APPLYING FOR THE CITY OF RIVERSIDE PUBLIC UTILITIES' ENERGY INNOVATIONS GRANT FOR THE STUDY OF SOLAR POWERED AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEMS ISSUE: California Baptist University (CBU) is seeking a grant in the amount of$100,000 to fund research on the viability of solar powered air conditioning systems. RECOMMENDATION: That the Board of Public Utilities recommend that the City Council approve a Grant Agreement with the California Baptist University (CBU) for an Energy Innovations Grant in the amount of $100,000 for FY 2010-2011 to research solar powered air conditioning systems. BACKGROUND: One of Riverside Public Utilities' programs funded from the Public Benefits Funds is the Energy Innovations Grant (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 of Riverside, California. 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. California Baptist University has submitted a proposal for grant funding by Professor Arthur Cleveland, Dean of Research and Sponsored Programs at the university. in this proposal, the School of Engineering will build apparatus to conduct tests on new and existing solar powered air conditioning systems and evaluate each for commercial and residential usage. They are seeking funds for phase one of a three phase research proposal. The project will include: • Phase I - to conduct a feasibility study of such a system using existing technology in absorption cooling, concentrated solar thermal collector, working fluid, evacuated tube, tracking mechanism, and monitoring & control system. • Phase II -will involve building a working prototype system. • Phase III - will produce refinement of each component to achieve optimal performance and explore potential commercial and residential applications. The initial study will include processes to investigate an absorption cooling system by using solar energy as its power source. They will identify a suitable solar thermal collector to heat a working fluid hot enough to boil the lithium bromide solution in the absorption cooling system. The project will deliver the