UCI gets $3 million for energy research

Deirdre Newman

UCI CAMPUS -- When the energy crisis brought the California power

system to its knees earlier this year, it illustrated the vulnerability

of reliance on the power grid and the need to explore alternative fuels.

UC Irvine will soon be at the forefront of this exploration, thanks to

a $3-million grant from the California Energy Commission.

The funds, which UCI’s Advanced Power and Energy Program started

receiving Friday, will be invested in four new research programs focusing

on alternative fuels and distributed power generation, which is putting

power directly where it is used instead of channeling it from a

centralized power plant.

The award is significant because it includes the first study of the

effect of distributed power on Southern California air quality, which is

renowned for its polluted conditions.

UCI was chosen because it already has the infrastructure in place --

mainly micro-turbine generators and fuel cells -- to conduct the

research, said California Energy Commission Secretary Betty McCann.

The award provides $991,695 over three years to establish a fuel

simulation facility, $698,689 over five years to assess the air-quality

effect of distributed generation, $826,917 over three years to design and

manufacture a low-emission combustor for use with a micro-turbine

generator, and $528,895 over three years to design and manufacture a

micro-turbine generator that operates on fuels other than natural gas.

The fuel simulation component will try to mimic other technologies

using alternative fuels such as methane and digestor gas from waste-water

facilities.

“It helps us simulate some of these fuels so we can do some modeling

and testing that we can apply in the real world, so we can deal with

these fuels more reliably,” said Kim Bergland, UCI power program outreach

director.

The research of distributed generation is exploring a new power

paradigm that can reap substantial benefits including reliability,

security, less pollution and efficiency, Berglandexplained.

For instance, businesses that rely on the power grid were subject to

rolling blackouts during the energy crisis. But with a fuel cell at their

location, the power flows without interruption, saving thousands to

millions of dollars.

Distributed generation, which uses natural gas, is also more efficient

because fuel cells and turbine generators can produce heat, as well as

electricity.

The technology is already in use in Newport Beach at the Hyatt

Newporter, which uses a fuel cell to provide electrical power for the

hotel and heat for the hot water used in the laundry facility.

Since 1999, the California Energy Commission has granted nearly $5

million to UCI’s power program in support of environmentally conscious

power generation.

-- Deirdre Newman covers education. She may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at o7 deirdre.newman@latimes.comf7 .