Browsing by Subject "Energy"
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Item An Assessment of Nighttime Lighting Conditions on the Campus of the University of Minnesota-Duluth(2010) Parent, Thomas; Kuhlke, OlafItem Asset Survey: Experiment in Rural Cooperation(University of Minnesota. Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships., 2003-01) Hartman, LaceyItem Climate Change and Energy Security(2008-09-01) Jacobs, Lawrence R.Item Community Heating Feasibility Study(2022) Ren, LifengOne hundred sixty Lower Sioux Indian Community households currently use propane as their primary fuel source to heat their homes. To help the families and households reduce the financial burden of utility bills, Lower Sioux Indian Community discussed two options for the future. The first option is adding a natural gas line to the community to which each house can connect. The second option is to upgrade the homes’ heating and cooling systems by installing cold climate air source heat pumps (ccASHPs). In this study, we hope to analyze the feasibility of each option, especially considering the uniqueness of the Lower Sioux Indian Community.Item Community-Scale Energy Storage Guide: How Community Groups and Small Businesses Can Employ Energy Storage to Save Money and Contribute to Minnesota’s Clean Energy TransitionVenning, Alex; Everett, Akisha; Kenney, Melissa A.; Institute on the EnvironmentThis guide is for people who have or are interested in investing in renewable energy batteries to power their homes, businesses, or community spaces. In it, we’ll walk you through how the US electricity grid operates, how renewable energy generated by homes and buildings works alongside it, and how investing in battery storage for renewable energy can optimize resources and help protect communities against power outages. We’ll also overview the different technologies available for storing renewable energy for future use and the partners, costs, and steps involved with installing an energy storage battery. Recent case studies from three sites in Minnesota, a state without fossil fuel reserves yet rich in renewable resources, illustrate how energy storage batteries help aid in the resilience of communities and the health of the planet by reducing reliance on fossil fuels.Item Cook County and Grand Marais Energy Conservation and Renewable Energy Plan(2012) Cook CountyThis planning document is heavily focused on energy requirements and future energy planning. There is little mention of water or other natural resources, although habitat and bird migration is discussed in the context of wind energy. Key points are summarized below. Summary: The energy planning process included a survey with 28 questions to solicit information concerning awareness of energy issues, attitudes toward energy issues, and what respondents had done to address these issues. Respondents overwhelmingly viewed movement toward use of renewable energy as very favorable and indicated a willingness to pay a premium of about 6% for renewable energy. Energy profile information was gathered for both Cook County and Grand Marais showing how, where, and how much energy is currently being used. This information was used to develop and prioritize the Plan's Goals, Strategies and Action Steps, and will be useful for measuring Energy Plan progress, and changes in energy use over time. The first phase of the study has been completed. It addresses the availability of forest biomass for energy production in Cook County; options for biomass combustion technology for small, medium, and large systems; and financial implications of converting to biomass energy in various Cook County settings. In a related effort, a bird migration study was undertaken by the Natural Resources Research Institute to assess the possible detrimental effects of locating wind turbines in the North Shore bird migration corridor. The study suggests that wind turbines located in Cook County, especially within 1 mile of the shore, might result in significant bird mortality. A list of goals, strategies and action steps are presented. No other water-related content was identified in the planning document and appendices.Item Cook County and Grand Marais Energy Conservation and Renewable Energy Plan Appendices(2012) Cook CountyThis is a series of annexes to the final report, and containing the following materials: Public Survey Results (Powerpoint presentation); Energy Toolbox Resources; Biomass Phase I Report Executive Summary; and Wind Feasibility Study. As noted in the previous document, there is little mention of water resources.Item Cook County Local Energy Project - Project Resume(2015)This item contains descriptions of events and projects, with details regarding dates and funding, for aspects of the Cook County Local Energy Project: Project Resume. Dates span 2008-2016.Item Database of Nutrient Composition of Animal Protein Meals(2017-02-13) Urriola, Pedro E; Kerr, Brian J; Jha, Rajesh; Shurson, Gerald C; urrio001@umn.edu; Urriola, Pedro E; Department of Animal SciencesAn industry survey and an animal experiment were conducted to evaluate compositional variability and DE and ME content of animal protein by-products, and to generate equations to predict DE and ME content based on chemical analysis. For the 220 samples collected, the greatest concentration of CP was observed in blood meal (BM) and least in meat and bone meal (MBM), the greatest concentration of ether extract (EE) was in meat meal and least in BM, with ash content greatest in MBM and least in BM; with Ca and P levels being 36.1 and 16.3% of the ash content, respectively. For the balance experiment, a corn-soybean meal basal diet was used with test diets formulated by mixing 80% of the basal diet with 20% of the animal protein by-product, except for BM which was included at 10 and 20% of the test diets. Ten groups of 24 gilts (final BW = 92.5 ± 7.4 kg) were used, with gilts randomly assigned to the test or the basal diet within each group, resulting in 16 replications per animal protein by-product or basal diet, except for BM determinations (20 replications). Gilts were placed in metabolism crates and offered 2.4 kg daily of their assigned diet for 13 d, with total collection of feces and urine during the last 4 d. Gross energy was determined in the diets, feces, and urine to calculate DE and ME content of each ingredient by the difference procedure, using DE and ME content of the basal diet as covariates among groups of pigs. The DE content of the animal protein by-products ranged from 5,367 to 2,567 kcal DE/kg of DM, and ME ranged from 4,783 to 2,340 kcal ME/kg DM. Using all animal protein by-products, the best fit equations were as follows: DE, kcal/kg DM = -2,468 + (1.26 × GE, kcal/kg DM), with R2 of 0.84, SE = 390, and P < 0.01; ME, kcal/kg DM = -2,331 + (1.15 × GE, kcal/kg DM), with R2 of 0.86, SE = 327, and P < 0.01). The apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of Ca and P were also determined using the difference procedure, with the average ATTD of Ca and P for the animal protein by-products, excluding BM and FM, being 27.1 and 39.1%, respectively. These data indicate that DE and ME varied substantially among the animal protein by-products and sources, and that a variety of nutritional components can be used to accurately predict DE and ME for finishing pigs. In addition, it appears that high dietary inclusion rates of animal protein by-products may result in low ATTD estimates of Ca and P, which may be due to excessive concentrations of total Ca and P affecting digestibility.Item Deep Winter Greenhouse v. 2.2 Construction Documents(2017-05-18) Handeen, DanielA Deep Winter Greenhouse (DWG) is a greenhouse designed to limit the amount of fossil fuel it takes to grow crops during cold winters. DWGs are passive-solar greenhouses that rely on energy from the sun to heat the building instead of more traditional heating sources. The DWG 2.2 construction documents, developed by the College of Design Center for Sustainable Building Research (CSBR), reflect design changes incorporated as a result of the UMN Extension Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships' statewide DWG initiative.Item Developing a Decision Support Tool for Visualizing Renewable Natural Gas Production in Minnesota via ArcGIS Technology(2022) Chaffee, Wyatte R.L.This video presentation is about the first ever interactive map for visualizing Minnesota's renewable natural gas (RNG) potential! RNG is biogas (methane, carbon dioxide and other trace gasses) that has been cleansed to match the methane purity of natural gas. This renewable and sustainable alternative can be used as a replacement for natural gas in Minnesota's current infrastructure. This map displays all active feedlots from 2018 and over 50 wastewater treatment plants. Each of these locations have had calculations completed to determine their theoretical RNG production. More information on these calculations can be found at the bottom of the website's details, when observing a specific location. Use this link to view the map: https://arcg.is/qWjzi0 Credits: Wyatte Chaffee, Dr. Lingkan Ding , and Dr. Bo Hu This research was funded by the University of Minnesota Twin Cities' Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP).Item Economic Impact of Enbridge Line 3 Replacement Project(University of Minnesota Duluth, 2022) Haynes, Monica; Chiodi Grensing, Gina; Austin, Nana Kofi; Jones, JacqueItem The Energy Consumption of Fume Hoods at the University of Minnesota-Duluth(2011-06-14) Engman, EvanItem Energy feedback at the city-wide scale(2014-05) Carter, Richard AllanClimate change is a growing concern throughout the world. In the United States, leadership has so far failed to establish targeted reductions and agreement on mitigation strategies. Despite this, many large cities are taking on the challenge of measuring their emissions, establishing targeted reductions, and defining strategies for mitigation in the form of Climate Action Plans. Reporting of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by these cities is usually based on a one-time, annual calculation. Many studies have been conducted on the impact of providing energy use data or feedback to households, and in some cases, institutional or commercial businesses. In most of those studies, the act of providing feedback has resulted in a reduction of energy use, ranging from 2% to 15%, depending upon the features of the feedback. Many of these studies included only electric use. Studies where all energy use was reported are more accurate representations of GHG emissions. GHG emissions and energy use are not the same, depending on the fuel source and in the case of this paper, the focus is on reducing energy use.This research documents the characteristics of the feedback provided in those studies in order to determine which are most effective and should be considered for application to the community-wide scale. Eleven studies, including five primary and six secondary research papers, were reviewed and analyzed for the features of the feedback. Trends were established and evaluated with respect to their effectiveness and potential for use at the community-wide scale.This paper concludes that additional research is required to determine if the use of energy feedback at the city scale could result in savings similar to those observed at the household scale. This additional research could take advantage of the features assessed here in order to be more effective and to implement the features that are best able to scale up. Further research is needed to determine whether combining city-wide feedback with feedback for individual energy users within the city, both residential and commercial, has an even greater impact on reducing energy use and lowering GHG emissions.Item Episode 28: Community Solar Intermediaries: Bridging the Gap Between Policy and Practice(2020-12-10) Harrington, Elise; Welter, EmmaIn the fall of 2020, Elise Harrington joined the Humphrey School as an assistant professor in the science, technology, and environmental policy area. In her new role, Harrington hopes to continue the research she began with MIT's Tata Center for her PhD, which brought her to both India and Kenya to study innovation in small-scale solar technologies. In this podcast episode, she speaks with us in more depth about her work in Kenya, where she's been investigating ways to close gaps between policy and practice in distribution models and consumer education for off-grid solar technologies like lanterns. Harrington is especially interested in the role played by "frontline solar intermediaries": individuals who act as go-betweens on behalf of solar companies. Intermediaries travel to communities to inform people about solar technology, sell products based on a variety of pricing models, and act as a resource for ongoing help with solar. When it comes to building a more resilient electricity infrastructure, Harrington says,"social interactions really matter”—and these intermediaries play an important role.Item Episode 2: Public Funding for Energy Research and Development(2017-01-30) Chan, Gabriel; Conners, KateEffective decision making to allocate public funds for energy technology research, development, and demonstration (R&D) requires considering alternative investment opportunities that can have large but highly uncertain returns and a multitude of positive or negative interactions. In this podcast, Gabriel Chan, assistant professor at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, explores the utility of applying new methods to improve the cost-effectiveness and environmental performance in a deliberative approach to energy R&D portfolio decision making.Item Evaluating Urban Food Systems(2018) Boyer, DanaIt is projected that about two thirds of the world's population will live in cities by 2050. Making sure that cities can handle the influx of people means considering more than transportation, energy, and water systems."Looking at urban food systems becomes really important when you want to sustain a global population,” explains Dana Boyer, a researcher in the Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy area at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs. "A perspective shift is necessary to think about food systems as we would a transportation system or a water system." As food demands continue to shape our cities, Boyer says it is important to take into account environmental and health impacts as well as issues of equity. Her research focuses on developing metrics and methods to measure the energy, greenhouse gas, water, and land resources that a city needs to support their food system. "When a city wants to work on their food supply the first question is—how much food does our city need and where is it coming from?"Item Feasibility of Installing a Solar Air Heater at the Natural Resources Research Institute(2015) Knutsen, CarstenItem Feasibility of Installing Solar Panels at UMD(2013-10-15) Davey, Sean; Ricks, Jacob; Kriel, Sarah; Powell, Megan
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