ERG has a small core faculty but a much larger group (100+) of affiliated faculty. Affiliated faculty are based in other departments on campus or at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and share ERG’s commitment to shared learning and interdisciplinary work. They are advisors, mentors, or employers to ERG students, and serve on master’s project, […]
My interests range from the integration of renewables into existing grids,the possibility of indigenes (especially women) in rural communities producing their own power or at least understanding its workings and the interaction between science and policy making in developing countries. I would love to study in the Renewable & Appropriate Energy Laboratory (RAEL) or the […]
Anna Brockway is a graduate student in the Energy and Resources Group and Electrical Engineering at UC Berkeley. Anna studies how electric power systems are changing—and how they must change—in response to existing and emerging stressors. Her work has focused on stressors to conventional power system operation including climate change, renewable energy, electrification, and public […]
Samuel Carrara holds a Bachelor Degree and a Master Degree in Mechanical Engineering (Major: Energy and Mechanical Plants) and a PhD in Energy and Environmental Technologies, all from the University of Bergamo, Italy. After working as an engineer in the gas turbine field, he is now a researcher at Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM), Milan, […]
Is it Worth it? A Comparative Analysis of Cost-Benefit Projections for State Renewables Portfolio Standards (’06, MS)
The Effects of Transmission Pricing on the Cost of Electricity from Renewables (96 MS)
Measuring California’s Energy Service Affordability (MS ’19) Christian is fascinated by energy end-uses’ effect on communities’ economic and political well-being. While his formal scientific background is in biorenewable resources, his focus is on the sustainable development of holistic energy solutions based on socioeconomic, geographic, and natural resource characteristics for communities both domestic and developing abroad. […]
Berkeley Energy Market Analysis Phase I: The Demand for Energy Conservation and Renewables (’81 M.A.)
Environmental, Economic, and Social Trade-Offs of Hydropower Relicensing (MS ’16) Joseph is interested in the social, environmental, and economic trade-offs in energy development, and in particular the social conflicts arising around utility-scale wind farm siting and hydropower relicensing. His master’s research focuses on the relicensing of the Yuba River Development Project, a large hydropower project […]
ERG alumni Ranjit Deshmukh, Amol Phadke and associate professor Duncan Callaway recently had their research, "Least-cost targets and avoided fossil fuel capacity in India’s pursuit of renewable energy" published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Their analysis on India’s power usage, weather patterns and energy infrastructure was featured in the The Current, and suggests that the country is "well positioned to take advantage of green energy sources".
ERG professor Dan Kammen was featured in the latest episode of the My Climate Journey (MCJ) Podcast. Kammen discussed numerous topics, including the feasibility of carbon pricing in the US, the implications of switching a fossil fuel economy to a renewable economy, and much more. "There's no question that 100% renewables is possible. I've done a lot of research, my lab works on scenarios to get the U.S., China, Mexico, Kenya, Bangladesh, Morocco to 100% renewables. And in many cases where the technology mix is improving enough, the climate favors that you can do that. It's also a case that we are not today ready to think about a solar and wind only world, but solar and wind plus storage, plus geothermal, plus potentially nuclear," Kammen states.
In a new Berkeley study “2035 – The Report: Plummeting Solar, Wind, and Battery Costs Can Accelerate Our Clean Energy Future,” ERG professor Dan Kammen comments that its findings of the U.S. being able to achieve 90% carbon-free, “clean” electricity could become a reality. "That goal – 90% carbon-free electricity by 2035 – can be achieved without increasing consumer electricity costs 'at all,'" Kammen states. "Solar, wind, and storage costs have fallen so significantly that even conservative leaders, conservative states, districts, countries can legitimately look at renewables, and actually economically need to look at renewables, as their next purchases.”
ERG professor Dan Kammen was recently quoted in AP News regarding California's power grid operator cancelling rolling blackouts. These scheduled widespread blackouts were averted after regulators warned that the electric grid would not have enough power to meet demands in the midst of a heat wave. Kammen commented that the state needs to do more to store and sell clean energy sources, and he hopes this week’s blackouts will prompt officials to act. “This is kind of a stress test on the system,” he said. “We have not built up enough of a smart enough system to take advantage of all the renewables we have in place.”
In an recent article on Science, Kammen contributes insight on the possibilities of harnessing renewable energy through various techniques.
With global temperatures increasing, researchers analyze the effects of temperature differences on wind patterns. Multiple studies confirm the possibility of wind resources declining across the Northern Hemisphere, reducing the energy potential of wind turbines. Familiar with the studies, Dan Kammen adds that the phenomenon is “a disturbing but entirely expected consequence of climate change.” However, […]
ERG Professor Dan Kammen was quoted in CarbonBrief this week, reinforcing the International Energy Agency’s assertion that renewable energy is emerging as a cheaper and more socially responsible alternative to coal in providing electricity to the 1.1 billion people who still lack energy access. “Coal doesn’t even deliver the thing for which it’s really been touted for, […]
ERG professor Daniel Kammen was featured on a KQED Radio Forum segment in addition to a podcast and French radio station.
ERG professor Daniel Kammen commented for Voice of America News about Trump's climate policies.
ERG Professor John Harte was featured on Environmental Health News speaking of how the implementation of sustainable energy will play an important role in future food security.
Watch White House scientists, including Dr. Cyrus Wadia (ERG MS'06, PhD'08), talk about the White House's shift toward renewables.
Greenhouse Gas Property – Introducing an Adaptable Climate Policy for an Uncertain World (MS ’07) Characterizing & Responding to Uncertainty in Climate Change (PhD ’11)
Greenhouse Gas Reduction Potential of Residential Gardens and Climate Friendly Diet Choices (12 MS)
Appliance Standards Transplantation: Applicability of a United States-based Energy Efficiency Standards Model in Costa Rica (’01 M.A.)
From Technology to Impact: Understanding and Measuring Behavior Change Associated with Improved Biomass Stoves (’11 MA)
Distributed Generation: Customer Adoption Model (99 MS)