Iowa NSF EPSCoR 2016 Annual Report - Year 5 (original) (raw)

Iowa NSF EPSCoR 2015 Annual Report - Year 4

2015

* What was accomplished under these goals (you must provide information for at least one of the 4 categories below)? Many activities were completed during Year 4 of the Iowa NSF EPSCoR project to address project goals. Highlights of the major activities are provided below. A detailed summary of the activities is provided in Appendix A, Section 1.2a. https://reporting.research.gov/rpprweb/rppr?execution=e1s45 11/177 Key outcomes or Other achievements: 275 people attended these events. The platform leveraged resources to hire a new female faculty member in the Department of Political science (Dr. Yu Wang) to take over teaching of the two energy policy graduate courses developed by Iowa NSF EPSCoR. Over 300 people participated in at least a portion of the "Meeting the Renewable Energy Symposium", cosponsored with the UI Public Policy Center. An additional 400+ people joined in a portion of the UI Obermann Humanities Symposium entitled "Energy Cultures in the Age of the Anthropocene".

Sioux Falls Renewable Project Final Report

2021

The following report provides background information in support of a proposal for Sioux Falls to transition from carbon-based energy to 100% renewable energy by 2035. The report was created by eight senior students in the University of South Dakota Department of Environment and Sustainability who researched and then wrote this document as their senior thesis (aka "Capstone Course"). The students divided the work into five focus groups, each addressing core issues that must be considered in any substantive effort to transition to 100% renewable energy. The focus groups included: technology assessment; health & public health impact; role of energy conservation & decreased energy demand; financial impact; education & communication strategy to build awareness and community support. The report makes the following key points and specific conclusions and recommendations: Key Points 1. Climate change is real and driven in large part by human activity leading to increased greenhouse gas emissions. Global temperatures have fluctuated over the past millennia, but the speed of temperature change in the past 100 years is unprecedented. According to the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, 19 of the hottest recorded 20 years have occurred since 2001, and the past 5 years have been the 5 hottest ever recorded. The CIA, Department of Defense, NSA, UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are just a few of the institutions or agencies that have identified climate change as a crisis impacting national and global security, food security, economic stability, natural disaster risk, and public health-requiring an urgent response across all sectors. 2. Cities, including towns, medium-sized cities, and large urban centers continue to rely on carbon-based solutions to provide energy needs. Cities account for 70% of all greenhouse gas emissions and 2/3 of energy consumption. 3. There is, however, a growing commitment by large and small cities in the United States and around the world to create and implement time-driven specific plans to transition from carbon-based to renewable energy. There are currently more than 175 cities in the United States that have already made the conversion to renewable energy or have made the commitment to do so, including Atlanta, St. Louis, San Diego, Houston, Seattle, and Minneapolis. There are over 150 cities around the world that have also already begun this transition or are actively developing plans to do so, including Montreal, Nairobi, Auckland, and Oslo. 4. Cities not only cause the majority of greenhouse gas emissions, they also provide the best opportunity to address this challenge, this crisis. Cities have defined populations and specific political and strategic planning processes that, when committed to shared goals, can lead to real change. 5. South Dakota is ranked 5 th nationally in the use of renewable energy receiving 70% of its energy from hydroelectric and wind. Sioux Falls receives 30% of its energy from renewable sources. The basic understanding of the importance of and technology needed for a transition to renewable future is already in place. Key Conclusions & Recommendations 1. Sioux Falls' transition to 100% renewable energy by 2035 is a bold challenge that will require significant investment in infrastructure, political will, leadership, and carefully nurtured community education and participation. It will not be easy, but the impact and the return on investment (ROI) will be significant. 2. The ROI can be measured by economic/financial impact: "clean" job creation, improved air and water quality, improved public health, and by enhancing Sioux Falls' national reputation as a place to raise families, create business, and plan for the future. 3. "Bottom up" community participation and genuine collaboration with all "stakeholders" (communities, political leaders, the business community, regional power companies, and others) will take time-but it is essential. 4. Data-driven information on the required technology, grid improvements needed, financial ROI, and real job creation projections-are also essential to the sustainable success of this effort. Reliable storage systems to provide energy 24/7/365, and system design to meet maximum power demand month to month are examples of challenges that will also need to be addressed.

Energy and Iowa’s future agriculture

This document is a summary of the views and opinions expressed by participants of the workshop on Energy and Iowa"s Future Agriculture, one of five theme-based discussions as part of the Summit for Visioning Iowa"s Future Agriculture . The discussion was held May 29 th , 2008, on the campus of Iowa State University, and was attended by 23 individuals from producer (i.e., farmer) groups, local/regional food advocates, major commodity groups, state and federal government agencies, and academic researchers. A list of attendees and their affiliations is appended at the end of this document. Some background information has been added to this document for purposes of clarification and articulation of complex issues.

Infrastructure Impacts of Iowa's Renewable Energy

Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2011

This paper investigates the physical and fiscal impacts of Iowa's existing biofuel plants and wind power industries. A four-county cluster in northern Iowa and a two-county cluster in southern Iowa were identified through a local agency survey as having a large number of diverse facilities and were selected for analysis of traffic and physical impact. The large-truck traffic patterns on Iowa's secondary and local roads from 2002 to 2008 were analyzed and associated with the pavement condition and county maintenance expenditures. A trend of increased maintenance costs in the year after a biofuel plant became operational as well as during the construction period was observed. Large-truck traffic also increased dramatically during the construction period and then dropped after the plant became operational, but not to the levels before the plant's construction. The major road damage associated with wind farms occurred during construction activities and predominantly on grave...

The University of Iowa Biomass Partnership Project

2013

Biomass may be obtained from existing sources, such as industrial co-products (e.g., oat hulls and paper sludge), from the forest using managed timber stand improvement, and from growing perennial dedicated energy crops on marginal lands. Each of these sources may be developed in a manner that improves the sustainability of the University of Iowa energy supplies.

Renewable Power and Energy Efficiency: Policies in Iowa and Other States

2000

Global security and economic uncertainty have led policymakers and leaders to examine the strategic alternatives provided by renewable power generation and energy efficiency measures. The primary sources of renewable power generation are wind, solar, biomass and hydropower. Ethanol and other renewable fuels also represent potential sources of fuel for electric power generation purposes but have more relevance to transportation. In recent years, many states have experimented with policy initiatives related to renewable energy and energy efficiency. This report provides a primer on innovative programs and experiences from other states and current programs in Iowa. Included in the report are responses to four specific questions designed to address this topic: