Search Results for: electricity grid

Analysis & Control (EMAC) Energy Modeling

The Energy Modeling, Analysis and Control (EMAC) group addresses the engineering and techno-economic challenges to decarbonizing electric power systems. Our work ranges from applied to theoretical. Much of our work focuses on building new control and optimization frameworks to facilitate the operation of low carbon grids.

Affiliated Faculty

ERG has a small core faculty but a much larger group of affiliated faculty. Affiliated faculty are based in other departments on campus or at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, ... Continue Reading »

ERG PhD Student Anna Brockway Calls for Rethinking California’s Electric Grid

August 27, 2020

ERG PhD student Anna Brockway and two UC Berkeley students recently published their article, "California must prepare its electric grid for complex climate risks", on the San Francisco Chronicle. The op-ed discusses the necessity of reworking California's electrical system to pave the way for efficient climate adaptation. "In order to make good decisions about maintenance, facility siting and the specs of new equipment, electric grid operators must understand how weather and climate affect electricity demand, supply and delivery. Normally, they look at historical weather patterns and operating conditions. But now, the electricity system must prepare for more record-setting events," the article states.

Alumna Alexandra von Meier on Multi-Customer Microgrids to Combat Wildfires

October 16, 2019

Alexandra von Meier, an ERG Alumna and director in the California Institute for Energy and Environment’s Electric Grid program area, discusses how locally sourced power, compared to shutting off power, can better prevent wildfires.

Challenges ERGies Contribute to IEEE “Electricity for All: Issues

September 9, 2019

Several ERGies recently contributed articles to an IEEE Special Issue on "Electricity for All: Issues, Challenges, and Solutions for Energy-Disadvantaged Communities."

RAEL and GRID Alternatives Partner for Off-Grid Solar

August 1, 2016

Solar Industry Magazine has announced a partnership between the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory (RAEL) and nonprofit solar installer GRID Alternatives. RAEL is a unique new research, development, project implementation, and community ... Continue Reading »

ERG Alum Receives Microsoft Grant for Ugandan Micro-grid Systems

June 27, 2016

New Sun Road is a California technology company directed by ERGie Jalel Sager (MS’11 , PhD’15). They are committed to implementing solutions to climate change and global energy poverty, provide ... Continue Reading »

CAL-RAE to pilot solar solar microgrid design in rural Uganda

May 2, 2015

PhD candidate Jalel Sager, Austin Cappon (ERG minor) and Jonathon Lee to pilot solar microgrid design this spring

Bloomberg Features ERG Professor Callaway on Electric Power and Stock Market Crashes

March 23, 2021

A recent article in Bloomberg News, titled "The Electrical Power Crash Is Just Like a Stock Market Crash," features ERG associate professor Duncan Callaway. The article discusses the state-wide electrical grid failure in Texas, and how the record cold snap caused plants to fail all at once. Callaway suggests that building more connections between the electricity grid of Texas and the two other man grids that cover the rest of the contiguous 48 states could pose as a potential solution. “If Texas were interconnected with other parts of the U.S., this certainly would not have been as bad,” he states.

Climate Action Seed and Matching Grants to fuel the work of ERG Alumni and Faculty

August 31, 2023

The University of California awarded more than $80 million in state-funded grants to spur climate action this August through the Climate Action Seed and Matching Grant program. ERG alum Patricia ... Continue Reading »

ERG Research Shows Reliability of Independent Solar Power in Sub-Saharan Africa

October 18, 2018

Nature Energy recently published research by ERG PhD Student Jonathan Lee and Professor Duncan Callaway quantifying the cost of reliability for decentralized solar and battery systems in Sub-Saharan Africa. Their ... Continue Reading »

Kammen on the Increasing Normalization of Power Shutoffs on KCBS Radio

November 4, 2019

Daniel Kammen discusses how power shutoffs and evacuations may become the the new normal as climate change continues to spark deadlier wildfires year after year.

Energy by Whom? With ERG Alumna Nikky Avila

November 26, 2018

Nikky Avila (PhD ’18) was recently featured on the podcast “Somebody Call a Doctor.” Avila discusses how distributed energy technologies are disrupting conventional electricity planning paradigms and enabling social innovation. She ... Continue Reading »

Paper Authored by PhD Candidate Noah Kittner and Professor Dan Kammen Published in Nature Energy

August 16, 2017

Noah Kittner and Dan Kammen's new paper, "Energy stor­age deploy­ment and inno­va­tion for the clean energy tran­si­tion," was published in Nature Energy on July 31, 2017

Renewable Dis-integration?

April 12, 2017

ERG associate professor Duncan Callaway co-authored this post with ARE associate professor Meredith Fowlie for the Energy Institute at Haas blog on grid dis-integration and the potential economic effects of grid defection.

A unique moment in history for “sustainable energy for all”

March 26, 2015

ERG team study showing how off-grid power can improve equality in energy access published in Nature Climate Change. Interview with lead author Peter Alstone.

ERG Alum Greacen’s book on small power

January 18, 2014

From the bottom up : how small power producers and mini-grids can deliver electrification and renewable energy in Africa

ERG students win United Nations award

November 13, 2013

Jalel Sager (PhD candidate) and Austin Cappon (Minor) head to Nairobi, Kenya to pick up UN prize for a sustainable energy development project in Vietnam.