Search Results for: solar energy

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.

Faculty by Primary Interest

Areas of Interest Climate Change ERG COREDavid AnthoffDavid Anthoff is an environmental economist who studies climate change and environmental policy. He co-develops the integrated assessment model FUND that is used ... Continue Reading »

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 »

Wind and Solar Energy Potential in The Democratic Republic of Congo – New ERG Study

October 2, 2017

Image: Renewable Riches: How Wind and Solar Could Power DRC and South Africa (2017) Ana Mileva, Ranjit Deshmukh, and Grace Wu discuss The Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) position to harness ... Continue Reading »

ERG PhD’s Deshmukh and Wu – The Economic Case for Wind and Solar Energy in Africa

April 3, 2017

ERG PhD students Ranjit Deshmukh and Grace Wu discuss their research on cost-efficient renewable energy solutions to meet Africa's energy demands with Berkeley Lab.

ERG’s Salma Elmallah on Justice Implications of Solar and Wind Energy Projects

July 26, 2022

ERG PhD student Salma Elmallah has recently been published in the Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning with an article that explores the drivers of solar and wind project siting ... Continue Reading »

here’s how we solve it Climate change is an energy problem

July 20, 2023

ERG Professors Duncan Callaway, Dan Kammen, and John Harte offer some good news in the California Magazine Optimism Issue on how the use of solar, EV, mini-grids, and carbon sinks ... Continue Reading »

Now is the Time to Start a Community Microgrid: ERG’s Dan Kammen on the Growing Accessibility of Renewable Energy

April 13, 2022

ERG’s Dan Kammen was featured in a recent Popular Science article discussing how more communities are beginning to generate their own power using renewable energy from microgrids. With the increased accessibility ... Continue Reading »

Carbon Pricing ERG’s Dan Kammen Interviewed in MCJ Podcast On Nuclear Energy

October 14, 2020

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.

‘Cheaper to save the climate’— ERG Professor Lara Kueppers Comments on Clean Energy Study

July 1, 2020

Following a recent UC Berkeley study showing how the United States can achieve 90% clean electricity by 2035, ERG Professor Lara Kuepper commented on the importance of reducing harmful emissions. This report, featured on The Daily Californian, found that by "prioritizing energy generated from wind, solar and battery storage, decarbonizing electricity at a rapid rate is possible."

Kammen and RAEL Address the Racial Inequalities in Solar Deployment on The Beam

November 25, 2019

ERG’s Dan Kammen and RAEL investigate how the benefits of solar energy is not distributed equally among individuals, and how there are racial disparities especially in rooftop solar PV deployment ... Continue Reading »

Noah Kittner and Dan Kammen Argue for Solar and Wind Over Hydropower in Nature Article

May 16, 2019

Recent ERG alum Noah Kittner (MS ’15, PhD ’18) and professor Dan Kammen, along with Stanford postdoc Rafael Schmitt and UC Berkeley professor of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning Matt ... Continue Reading »

Study finds racial inequality in the deployment of rooftop solar

January 10, 2019

A new study by researchers at UC Berkeley and Tufts University shows fewer rooftop solar photovoltaics installations exist in African-American and Hispanic-dominant neighborhoods than in white-dominant neighborhoods, even when controlling ... Continue Reading »

ERG’s Isa Ferrall and Haas Teammates Win “Energy in Emerging Markets” Case Competition

December 10, 2018

The case competition, hosted Nov. 6 by the MBA Energy Club at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, required a team of three to five graduate students to compare the electrical ... Continue Reading »

ERG’s Isa Ferrall and Haas Teammates Win “Energy in Emerging Markets” Case Competition

December 10, 2018

The case competition, hosted Nov. 6 by the MBA Energy Club at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, required a team of three to five graduate students to compare the electrical ... Continue Reading »

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 »

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 »

WA Solar Powered “Net-Zero Community” on Lopez Island

March 6, 2018

ERG alumni Chris and Chom Greacen explain the vision and execution that brought to life the Common Ground community on Lopez Island, WA. Read about the project’s origins and objectives, efficiency ... Continue Reading »

A Battery of Choices – Energy Storage in the 21st Century

March 1, 2018

As the world moves away from using traditional fossil fuels and towards sources of renewable energy like wind and solar, securing cost-effective ways to store this electricity is essential. ERG ... Continue Reading »

Carbon Footprints CNR’s Breakthroughs Magazine Highlights ERG Students and Faculty for Research on Energy Storage

December 2, 2017

The College of Natural Resources has issued its Fall 2017 Breakthroughs magazine, featuring research from many ERG students and faculty. From Chris Jones and Dan Kammen’s comprehensive carbon footprint calculator ... 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

ERG Ph.D. Candidate Grace Wu – New Tool Helps African Countries Find the Best Sites for Renewable Energy Projects

April 14, 2017

ERG Ph.D. candidate Grace Wu is featured in this IEEE Spectrum article on a tool called Multicriteria Analysis for Planning Renewable Energy (MapRE)

ERG Professor Callaway – Solar Power in Africa

April 3, 2017

ERG Professor Duncan Callaway comments on renewable energy in Africa, noting the advancements in solar technology in Crescent Vale News.

Kammen Comments on What’s at Stake as Trump Takes Aim at Clean Energy Research

February 1, 2017

ERG professor Dan Kammen commented in this MIT Technology Review article on reports that the Trump administration intends to shut down or slash resources for select Department of Energy programs.

ERG Graduate Students Deshmukh and Wu: Can Wind and Solar Fuel Africa’s Future?

November 4, 2016

ERG Graduate Students Ranjit Deshmukh and Grace Wu's research on renewable energy in Africa was highlighted in a news article in Nature.

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 »

Daniel Kammen Supports Tesla-SolarCity Merge

June 30, 2016

Elon Musk described the rationale for Tesla to acquire SolarCity and create the “world’s only vertically integrated energy company.’’ - New York Times

Proposed state fee would end solar savings

November 1, 2015

ERG professor Dan Kammen looks at impacts of proposed new CPUC rules.

Solar Power Expansion Could Pose Ecological Risks

October 22, 2015

Post­doc­toral scholar, Rebecca Her­nan­dez, discusses her study on the ecological footprint of solar power development with Scientific American.

Only 15% of California’s Big Solar Projects are on the Right Kind of Land

October 19, 2015

Postdoctoral scholar, Rebecca Hernandez, comments on California's utility-scale solar projects.

Energy and Resource Group research finds that well-placed PV is yielding big savings on PG&E’s distribution grid

June 27, 2015

ERG Professor Duncan Callaway and and ERG student Michael Cohen's (MS '12) release report on Economic Effects of Distributed PV Generation on California's Distribution System.

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

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.

California could power itself three to five times over with solar

March 17, 2015

ERG postdoctoral fellow Hernandez with Hoffacker and Field from Stanford publish in Nature Climate Change.

ERG Alum on the Executive Mansion’s Solar Installation

May 28, 2014

Watch White House scientists, including Dr. Cyrus Wadia (ERG MS'06, PhD'08), talk about the White House's shift toward renewables.

Clean energy future: Kammen and Wolfram talk it out on NPR

November 30, 2013

ERG's Kammen and Haas' Wolfram don't exactly see eye-to-eye on energy in NPR interview.

ERG student Hausfather in Science: Oceans are warming even faster than previously thought

January 16, 2019

“If you want to see where global warming is happening, look in our oceans,” said Zeke Hausfather, a graduate student in the Energy and Resources Group at UC Berkeley and co-author of the paper. “Ocean heating is a very important indicator of climate change, and we have robust evidence that it is warming more rapidly than we thought.”

New ERG Chair Daniel M. Kammen

July 25, 2017

We are pleased to announce the appointment of the new Energy and Resources Group Chair, Professor Daniel M. Kammen. His appointment began July 1, 2017. Daniel Kam­men is a Pro­fes­sor of Energy with ... Continue Reading »

ERG PhD Lara Speaks at TEDx Pura Vida 2017

March 6, 2017

Last week, ERG PhD student José Daniel Lara spoke in Costa Rica at the TEDx Pura Vida 2017 event. Lara’s talk focused on the urgency for Costa Rica to integrate solar energy ... Continue Reading »

but scientists say the work’s just begun. Obama’s Clean Power Plan is finally out

August 5, 2015

ERG Professor Daniel Kammen was featured in two magazine publications regarding Obama's Clean Power Plan and the impacts it might have on the U.S. population.

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 Dan Kammen Addresses Texas’ Recent Electric Grid Failure

March 23, 2021

In a recent San Francisco Chronicle article, titled "Why the massive power outages in Texas are so much worse than California's summer blackouts," features ERG professor Dan Kammen discussing how such energy outages have highlighted a similarity between California and Texas. “What is so interesting here is that like in California — extreme weather (for us, fires) — has stressed an old, outdated and ‘not smart’ grid,” Kammen stated. “Without well-integrated solar, wind, AND energy storage our grids are vulnerable.”

Earthweek Features ERG Professor Margaret Torn’s Lead Research on Net-Zero Emissions

March 23, 2021

ERG adjunct professor Margaret Torn was recently featured in Earthweek for her leading research in how the U.S can reach zero net emissions of carbon dioxide in 2050 by shifting energy infrastructure to operate mainly on renewable energy. “It means that by 2050 we need to build many gigawatts of wind and solar power plants, new transmission lines, a fleet of electric cars and light trucks, millions of heat pumps to replace conventional furnaces and water heaters, and more energy-efficient buildings,” Torn states.

Farbes ERG Alums Williams

February 3, 2021

A new article, "Carbon-neutral pathways for the United States," published in the open-access journal AGU Advances by ERG alums Jim Williams, Jamil Farbes, ERG alum and adjunct professor Margaret Torn, and others found that "reaching zero net emissions of carbon dioxide from energy and industry by 2050 can be accomplished.

ERG Kammen on New Berkeley Study — “90% carbon-free electricity achievable by 2035”

September 15, 2020

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.”

On Science— Kammen Explores the Industrial Drivers of a Low-carbon Economy

September 24, 2019

In an recent article on Science, Kammen contributes insight on the possibilities of harnessing renewable energy through various techniques.

Mileva ERG Alumni Deshmukh

September 12, 2018

ERG alumni Ranjit Deshmukh, Ana Mileva, and Grace Wu recently published their research on alternatives to the hydroelectric power Inga III Dam in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The ... Continue Reading »

What Does Development Mean for the Stateless?

August 31, 2018

For over one million Rohingya refugees living in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, water and sanitation, health, and shelter are crucial issues. ERG PhD student Samira Siddique examines the importance of ... Continue Reading »

Misplaced Praise – How Kosovo Took a Step in the Wrong Direction

March 13, 2018

The U.S. government recently congratulated the government of Kosovo for signing a contract with American multi-national corporation Contour Global to build a new 500 MW coal-fired power plant. Kosovo highlights ... Continue Reading »

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.

ERG-led THIMBY Wins Categories in Tiny House Competition

October 25, 2016

The Tiny House in My Backyard (THIMBY) team won several categories in the 2016 Sacramento Municipal District Tiny House Competition.

ERG Alumni: Leaders at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

June 30, 2016

Two articles on the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory website featured the current work of ERG alumni Ryan Wiser (M.S. '96, Ph.D. '02) and Andrew Jones (M.S. '07, Ph.D. '12).

THIMBY House Project Is Well Underway!

June 28, 2016

The Tiny House in My Backyard (THIMBY) is an interdisciplinary team of UC Berkeley graduate and undergraduate students working together to design and build an affordable, off-grid, 100% solar-powered “tiny” ... 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 »

ERG Summer Courses Available

February 28, 2016

ERG is offering four of its most popular courses this summer! Enroll Today!

ERG PhDs: Making Powering Africa a Reality

January 28, 2016

ERG PhD students Ranjit Deshmukh and Grace Wu share their research on Africa's leap toward clean and affordable energy with World Policy.

Feeding people on our stressed planet will require a “revolution”

August 7, 2015

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.

Sarawak May See the End of Mega Dams

July 1, 2015

As an alternative to the current Baram Dam project, Professor Daniel Kammen presented the benefits of using renewable energy instead of mega hydro-dams at a press conference held at Kuch­ing, Sarawak, East Malaysia.

NSF & More ERG Awards: Switzer Fellowships

May 14, 2015

3 current Switzer fellows, 2 more NSF fellows, and more. See the list of awards ERG students have received.

First Direct Observation of Carbon Dioxide’s Increasing Greenhouse Effect at the Earth’s Surface

February 28, 2015

Paper published in Nature by Daniel Feldman and other LBL scientists, including ERG core faculty Margaret Torn.

Time to implement the U.S.-China climate accord

February 3, 2015

Dr. Dan Kammen in Al Jazeera reminds us not to forget US and China's strategic climate partnership.

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.