MADISON – The new University of Wisconsin-Madison Energy Institute is leveraging
several renowned UW-Madison energy education and research programs in its unique,
multidisciplinary approach to understanding and addressing key global energy issues.
“These are elite scientists with very active and internationally recognized research
efforts,” says Paul Meier, energy institute director. “They’re seeing not only a
need to collaborate and connect their own expertise with research from other areas,
but also to reach out and to engage with energy decision makers and the public. They
see a larger energy conversation as vital to the prosperity of both the state and
the nation.”
Formally created earlier this year, the institute pools the expertise of more than
50 UW-Madison faculty and staff in disciplines that range from chemistry, physics
and engineering to geology, life sciences, environmental studies, public policy,
business and law. It includes representatives from the UW-Madison Engine Research
Center, Solar Energy Laboratory, Fusion Technology Institute, Center for
Sustainability and the Global Environment, Power Systems Engineering Research
Center, Wisconsin Electric Machines and Power Electronics Consortium, and Wisconsin
Institute of Nuclear Systems, among others.
“Our mission is to integrate all energy activities at UW-Madison and to focus them
as a resource to serve Wisconsin and beyond,” says Meier.
The breadth of energy research at UW-Madison enables energy institute participants
to tackle energy policy, as well as technical issues such as rising fuel costs,
greater energy demands, and cost-effective alternatives from many perspectives.
In addition, the researchers’ discipline-specific knowledge-in essence, an internal
system of checks and balances-sets the institute apart as an unbiased source of
energy information, says Michael Corradini, a professor of engineering physics and
an energy institute founding member. “We’re trying to present the facts in common,
uncomplicated, understandable language, so that other people-including the
public-can come to their own judgment about what could be done and what are the
alternatives,” he says.
In addition to research, the energy institute approach centers on interaction with
and input from key energy stakeholders, including those from state and federal
government, industry and the public. To help members connect with those audiences,
the institute has joined efforts with the Wisconsin Public Utility Institute, which
for more than two decades has provided forums for discussion and debate of public
policy issues in the electricity, gas and telecommunications industries.
“There’s a real belief among the energy institute participants that energy issues
are societal issues and that productive solutions are going to collectively involve
government, industry and the public,” says Meier. “Education is vital to raising
awareness about the issues.”
One unique component of that educational effort is the “My Power” energy simulation
tool that Meier developed. The simulation currently enables users to choose
combinations of various electricity generation sources-for example, conventional
coal, nuclear, hydroelectric, wind, solar and biomass, among others-to meet
projected electricity needs in a particular region. Based on those choices, the
program calculates the cost to produce electricity and the amounts of carbon dioxide
and nitrogen and sulfur oxides that system will produce.
The simulation is a tool designed to start conversations about energy alternatives.
In 2005, Wisconsin energy expenditures jumped to nearly $18 billion, up from $15
billion the year before, says Meier. “For a typical household, energy will be their
third largest expense, behind housing and health care,” he says. “Being strategic
about energy can save Wisconsin households billions of dollars in the long run.”
While electricity is an important piece of the energy equation, he says, energy
institute researchers also are looking to expand the concept of interactive
simulation to include energy usage for transportation, as well as for decisions at
home. In one project, Engineering Physics Assistant Professor Paul Wilson is
improving a Web-based personal environmental calculator, which allows users to
catalogue their real-life energy-related decisions and gauge the corresponding
environmental impact. “It’s an easy way to learn that you can really reduce your
personal environmental footprint with little changes in your daily lifestyle,” says
Meier.
Beta versions of the My Power simulation and the Personal Environmental Calculator
are available on the energy institute Web site, www.energy.wisc.edu.
Led by Mechanical Engineering Assistant Professor Greg Nellis and scientist Scott
Schuetter, undergraduate and graduate members of several UW-Madison student
organizations also are developing educational materials to help K-12 students and
their teachers understand the underlying science that governs energy issues.
In addition, a bi-weekly energy institute seminar series creates a forum where
academics and representatives from government, the energy industry and the public
can discuss key issues. The series brings national energy experts, such as BP Chief
Scientist Steve Koonin, former California Energy Commission Chief of Program
Evaluation Mike Messenger, and University of California-Berkeley Nuclear Engineering
Professor Per Peterson, to discuss current topics, recent research or emerging
energy challenges. The talks, which are open to public audiences and also videotaped
and archived online, collectively have drawn several hundred attendees, says Meier.
This dialogue-based format is an energy institute cornerstone-a model based on the
Wisconsin Idea in which stakeholders draw on objective university information and
innovation to form collective conclusions and solutions.
“I do get asked if we’re planning to solve the world’s energy problems,” says Meier.
“I think our philosophy about how that happens helps make us unique. We realize that
technology innovation is one of the necessary pieces, and that UW-Madison is an
international research leader in many of the key areas. But a bigger and more
important piece is to create an all-inclusive civic discussion so that, armed with
objective data, all stakeholders can proactively seek solutions.”
