Seven initiatives -- including two lecture series and five projects -- have been selected by UVM’s Clean Energy Fund (CEF) Committee for 2014-2015.

The CEF is designed to advance clean and renewable energy on campus through research, education and infrastructure. The fund is supported by a self-imposed student fee of $10 per student per semester, generating about $225,000 per year. This year’s initiatives, approved for funding by the vice president of finance, total $152,844.

The two lecture series selected include the Energy Action Seminar and the IGERT Smart Grid Seminar. Building on the success of the fall 2013 Energy Action Seminar and with a budget up to $15,000, the 2014 Energy Action Seminar will feature speakers discussing renewable energy programs working to reduce the environmental impacts of current energy use in Vermont and beyond.

Up to $11,000 is budgeted for the IGERT Smart Grid seminar series, which will explore the next generation power grid and its relationship to renewable energy. Learn more about UVM IGERT and Smart Grid projects.

The five CEF projects approved for funding include:

  • Polar Power (up to $4,500): The university will conduct a feasibility review using a system that monitors inside and outside temperature to indicate appropriate times to bring cooler outside air into a building, with the goal of reducing the energy needed for refrigeration. 
  • GreenSpeed4 (up to $35,000): Alternative Energy Racing Organization (AERO) is a student club with a diverse and growing membership. The group will be designing and building a vehicle with a parallel hybrid system.
  • Off-campus Student Energy Conservation Challenge (up to $38,849): Home energy devices (HEDs) will be provided to UVM students living off-campus in Burlington. The HEDs will connect to residential smart meters, making real-time energy consumption data available. This project will inform Burlington Electric Department’s implementation plan for deploying advanced metering infrastructure.
  • Bike Access Improvement (up to $41,500) An active transportation plan will be created to guide changes in infrastructure in support of human-powered transportation. Data will be collected about bike storage and parking, bike lanes and pedestrian walkways, commuter routes to and from campus, the potential of the bike share system, and connections to the transit network and plan of Burlington.
  • Electric Vehicle Charging Station Feasibility Study ($6,995): This feasibility study will evaluate ways to bring electric vehicle charging stations to UVM. After a plan is created, sources of funding will be identified to bring charging stations to campus.
  • Johnson House Renewable Energy Feasibility Review (up to $25,000): This project will examine the potential for geothermal energy and for solar trackers on the lots immediately adjacent to the Johnson House, home to the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics.

See past projects supported by the Clean Energy Fund.

PUBLISHED

05-14-2014
University Communications
Learn more about UVM's Alternative Energy Racing Organization, one of the selected recipients of CEF support this year. The student club will use the funds to design and build a vehicle with a parallel hybrid system.