Seminar Archives

Community Engaged Research for Just Energy Services Transitions

People do not need kilowatts; instead, they need the multitude of services provided by access to energy, including thermal comfort, refrigeration of food and medicine, cooking, lighting, communication, and transportation. As socio-technological systems experience rapid transitions associated with addressing climate change, inequity in access, aging infrastructures, and the negative socio-environmental consequences of current energy systems, […]

Community-Owned Broadband – How Electric Co-ops Are Leveraging the Energy Transition to Bridge the Digital Divide

The digital divides hits rural and marginalized communities hardest. Big Broadband providers claim broadband doesn’t “pencil out” in these communities. Yet America’s electric co-ops are filling the void and bridging the digital divide, providing high-speed, world-class broadband in some of the countries most economically challenged communities.

Scaling Grid-Edge Upgrades with Inclusive Utility Investments

What would happen if money-saving energy upgrades could be installed in any sound building without upfront costs or occupants taking on a debt obligation? California’s utility regulators recently ordered investor-owned utilities to develop a tariff for inclusive utility investments, answering a key recommendations in the state’s 2019 Energy Efficiency Action Plan and the CEC’s landmark […]

Electrochemical Wastewater Refining for Circular Chemical Manufacturing

Energy and water are two critical interdependent systems that impact environmental quality and require urgent innovation. Mining critical materials for energy storage requires large freshwater inputs and introduces pollutants to aqueous environments. Treating wastewater and producing potable require substantial energy inputs. Electrochemical wastewater refining, or the generation of tunable product portfolios from waste streams, can […]

End-use electrification and its impact on distribution systems

In what ways will utilities need to upgrade the electric distribution grid to accommodate electrified loads, and what will those upgrades cost? Our study focuses on the PG&E service area in Northern California, which serves 4.8 million electricity customers and is subject to aggressive targets for both EV adoption and electrification of residential space and […]

Embarking on the Great Implementation: What I learned during 16 months at the California Energy Commission

Location: 1605 Tilia Street, Suite 100, Davis, CA Watch Video Join us for an enlightening seminar featuring Ben Finkelor, Executive Director of UC Davis Energy and Efficiency Institute (EEI), as he shares insights and experiences gained during his 16-month tenure as a Senior Advisor and Chief of Staff to Vice Chair Siva Gunda at the […]

Sustainable Systems Science for Accelerating Clean Energy Transitions and Climate Solutions

Location: 1605 Tilia Street, Suite 100, Davis, CA Watch Video The next few years are critical. Immediate and deep reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are necessary across all sectors or limiting warming to 1.5 °C will be beyond reach. Sustainable systems science provides a useful framework and tools to characterize mobility, buildings, food, and other […]

New Wine in Old Bottle: Evolution of the Texas Electricity Market Since 2021 Blackouts and Broader Electricity System Implications

In February 2021 winter storm Uri left hundreds dead and tens of billions of dollars in losses in Texas. This talk will take an integrative stock of the lessons and insights that have emerged regarding the functioning of the ERCOT electricity market in the aftermath of Uri. By examining the nature of recent changes in […]

Energy Bites Seminar May 25, 2023

Thursday, May 18, 2023 | 12PM-1PM Bite 1: Jet Fuels from Biomass Mark Mascal, EGG/CHE Bite 2: Optimized Controls for Cooling Dairy Cows Jonathan Hollist, WCEC

Energy Bites Seminar May 18, 2023