UCI Gets $3M to Study Energy Issues
The University of California, Irvine’s advanced power and energy program last month received a $3 million grant from the California Energy Commission to research the commercial potential of alternative fuels and distributed power generation.
The multiyear grant is set to fund four new research programs, including a study of the impact of distributed power on Southern California’s air quality. A center to test biogas fuels and support the manufacturing of a new generation of microturbine generators also is planned
“The emergence of distributed power generation has brought both opportunities and challenges,” said Scott Samuelsen, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and the program’s director. “The four studies addressed under the award focus on key issues.”
The grant was funded through the state commission’s public interest energy research program, which supports research to help reduce California’s reliance on the power grid. Since 1999, the state program has granted nearly $5 million to UCI in support of environmentally preferred power generation.
