We’re holding this year’s series online via webinar. Each lecture will be streamed via Zoom, and will be followed by a Q&A discussion period. All events are free and open to the public.
Visit our Sustainable Futures page for descriptions of each talk, or simply click on the talk titles above to register for an event.
Accessibility
Zoom captioning is provided for all live talks, and human-generated captions are provided for all video recordings when published online. To request additional support, please contact info@schatzcenter.org or call 707-826-4345 at least one week before an event.
About the series
The Sustainable Futures speaker series stimulates interdisciplinary collaboration around issues related to energy, the environment, and society. These lectures are sponsored by the Schatz Center, the Environment & Community graduate program, and the College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences at Humboldt State.
Three graduate fellows joined us last fall, and are now on research teams that span the Center’s programs!
Ogunwo Demilade is the 2020-21 Tuttle Fellow. Demi did her undergraduate work at the University of Lagos, Nigeria where she studied electrical and electronics engineering. After graduation, she worked as a project manager at Ecowatt Nigeria, managing energy audit and power quality assessment projects for residential and industrial facilities. She later joined Starsight, a solar power utility, as a solar construction engineer. At Starsight, she supervised solar PV hybrid systems installation for banks and schools.
Growing up in a country with an unstable supply of electricity and around 50% electricity access, my goal has always been to contribute to solving the electricity access issues in my country using sustainable means. I intend to do my thesis on a solar PV and biomass powered microgrid for rural communities, and I hope to get funding to implement it after I am done with my program.
Since her arrival last fall, Demi has been working on a team that is chronicling how the two Blue Lake Rancheria microgrids performed during a series of voluntary islanding events in August 2020. She sees this research as a great opportunity to explore how microgrid systems operate and what benefits they can provide, from energy savings to demand response services and resilience during emergencies.
Malcolm Moncheur is the 2020-21 Schatz Energy Fellow. He received his bachelors from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in bioprocess engineering. Malcolm’s first experience with renewable energy was through an internship with Wallowa Resources, a community empowerment nonprofit in northeastern Oregon. At Wallowa Resources, Malcolm provided technical and grant-writing support for community micro-hydroelectric projects — and saw what engineering can achieve when applied through a social change framework.
I was originally drawn to renewable energy through the technical side of things, learning how renewables function and their associated environmental/climate benefits. However, I quickly became interested with issues of equity: who benefits, who doesn’t, and how can we transition to renewables in a just fashion that includes historically marginalized communities? Long term I’d like to focus on climate or energy justice, working to resolve energy inequities through community-owned projects.
Malcolm is currently working on the north coast “SAFE” project (Smoke, Air, Fire, Energy), which is a collaboration between the Schatz Center, the Karuk Tribe, and the Blue Lake Rancheria Tribe to understand both air quality impacts and energy needs associated with fire events.
Hamidah Naishur Nakimuli is the 2020-21 Blue Lake Rancheria Fellow. Hamidah received her undergraduate degree in leisure and hospitality management from Makerere University Uganda. She has ten years of work experience in last mile energy distribution, and her commitment to renewable energy is informed by her firsthand experience with energy distribution injustices.
At the Schatz Center, Hamidah is a member of the solar products test lab, where she has been conducting market studies on products from suppliers in Sierra Leone and Uganda. After completing her graduate work at HSU, she plans to continue engaging with energy related activities that work to increase energy distribution to those with poor energy options, or without energy/electricity at all. In the meantime, she is looking forward to fully exploring HSU’s campus and experiencing the outdoors!
Continuing fellows
Amin Younes and Aditya Singh are continuing as fellows for their second year. Amin is a member of the offshore wind and national energy policy teams at the Schatz Center. His graduate thesis will explore feasible renewable energy plans for Humboldt County, in light of California’s Renewable Portfolio Standard. Aditya Singh is also a member of the Schatz Center’s energy policy research team. For his thesis, Aditya is evaluating the costs and benefits of adding new infrastructure to transition Humboldt County’s conventional bus fleet to battery-electric or hydrogen fuel cell systems.
Interested in becoming a fellow?
All first year graduate studies applicants who are pursuing either the ERE or ETaP pathway in Environmental Systemsand who indicate an interest in energy systems will be automatically considered for clean energy fellowships associated with the Schatz Center.
In your California State University graduate application essay, please discuss the line of research or project work that you propose to pursue at HSU, and how your prior studies and experience have prepared you.HSU graduate program applications are due by February 1 (annually) for fall enrollment. Fellowship recipients will be notified by April 15.
Energy Technology & Policy (ETaP) is an interdisciplinary graduate program focused on issues at the intersection of energy, the environment, and society. Students draw on tools and perspectives from engineering, economics, political science, sociology, public health, and ecology to better understand the multi-faceted drivers and impacts of modern energy systems and climate change. Their graduate research ranges from local to global in scope, making innovative and impactful contributions in a broad array of arenas including renewable energy deployment, clean transportation, environmental justice, and improved energy access in developing countries. 95% of recent ETaP graduates have joined the energy workforce or are now enrolled in related PhD programs!
All incoming ETaP students will be considered for fellowships at the Schatz Center.
In the Environmental Resources Engineering (ERE) graduate program, students develop the practical application of their engineering skills to meet challenges in environmental resource planning, design, and management. Graduates acquire a multidisciplinary toolkit that builds on deep technical foundations and leverages coursework in policy, economics, and more. The ERE graduate program encompasses renewable energy, water quality, and water resources, and all students complete a thesis or project that matches their research and professional interests in one of these areas.
All incoming ERE graduate students whose research goals are focused on renewable energy systems will be considered for fellowships at the Schatz Center.
Congratulations to Arla Ramsey, Vice Chair of the Blue Lake Rancheria Tribe, for receiving an inaugural Clean Energy Champion award from the California Energy Commission! This new award recognizes leaders from across California whose outstanding achievements are helping to advance the state’s bold clean energy goals.
We wanted to share a few thoughts on what Arla’s visionary leadership has meant to our team:
Solar Plus microgrid kickoff celebration
Arla Ramsey’s leadership at the Blue Lake Rancheria has been critical for advancing clean energy on California’s north coast. The innovative microgrid projects she has championed not only serve our community in times of need but now are a model for statewide action towards resilient clean energy. — Peter Alstone, project lead on the Rancheria’s “Solar Plus” microgrid
It’s great to see recognition for such a strong indigenous leader, who routinely faces great risks in the interest of advancing innovative solutions for grid decarbonization and resiliency. While implementing the Blue Lake Rancheria Microgrid, Arla’s steadfast leadership and encouragement bolstered our team’s confidence and inspired us to keep striving even in the face of our most challenging setbacks. — Dave Carter, project manager on the Rancheria’s main campus microgrid
Arla Ramsey is a powerhouse. She has done so much for the Blue Lake Rancheria Tribe and surrounding communities. When she puts her mind to something, there is no stopping her. We have worked with Arla and her team at the Blue Lake Rancheria on a number of sustainable energy projects. They are so forward-looking in their efforts and their investments. They look to deploy energy technologies that make economic sense, provide local resilience and security, and help to move our region toward a carbon free future in order to mitigate climate change. They are an amazing team and have been a tremendous partner, and Arla is right out in front leading the charge! — James Zoellick, project manager on the Rancheria’s “Solar Plus” microgrid
As one of the leaders of the Blue Lake Rancheria Tribe, Arla Ramsey has been a strong force for the Tribe’s efforts to make the Rancheria a shining example of a sustainable community. Arla has been a trusted partner, always willing to contribute that extra effort, as we have worked with the Tribe to achieve their renewable energy goals. We congratulate her on being named a Clean Energy Champion, a well deserved honor. — Peter Lehman, project lead on the Rancheria’s main campus microgrid
We’re grateful to work in partnership with the Blue Lake Rancheria on clean energy microgrid development and so much more — and we are inspired by Arla Ramsey’s decades of leadership that has done so much to advance our national understanding of sustainable community development!
We are outraged and grieved by the recent murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor by police, and by the violence inflicted against protestors across the nation who are taking a stand to change our country’s systemic oppression of Black people. We know that police brutality is a product of racist power structures, and that this same brutality reinforces oppression. George Floyd and Breonna Taylor are among the latest victims of a culture of hatred and violence towards Black bodies that has been present since the founding of this country.
We recognize that this oppression is maintained through a fundamentally unequal distribution of resources, and of exposure to harm. Across the globe, the access by Black, brown, and indigenous peoples to basic goods is curtailed by racist, colonialist systems. The same systems expose these communities to higher levels of pollution — again threatening and shortening lives. Further, we recognize that the extent to which communities can mobilize and deploy solutions is often stymied by racism, and that the nature of privilege makes it much easier for those who already occupy positions of power to be heard and acknowledged.
Systemic racism impacts every location, including ours here on California’s north coast. Our community is still reeling from the loss of David Josiah Lawson, a Black student leader, three years ago, and from the incapacity of our police and legal system to bring justice for his murder. Students and staff on our campus face very different challenges depending on the color of their skin, their language, and their heritage — including ongoing harassment on and off campus, as recent events have again made apparent. None of these events happen in isolation.
As a majority white organization in a predominantly white field, we recognize that we must be simultaneously humble and strong. We must be humble to realize the gaps in our understanding — and in our empathy. We must be proactive in developing a safe, inclusive, and collaborative work environment that supports our non-white students and staff. We must learn more inclusive ways of engaging with all people toward a just division of resources. At the same time, we must be strong in our protection of all people.
We know we have a great deal of work to do, and much to learn and unlearn.
We stand in solidarity, and in humility, to acknowledge the truths of our history, and to affirm:
Our good friend Don Tuttle passed away on May 15 at the age of 81. We were very sad to learn the news, and we extend our heartfelt condolences to his wife, Andrea, and his family and friends.
Don and Andrea Tuttle are longtime friends and supporters of the Schatz Energy Research Center and Humboldt State University. Andrea is a founding member of the Schatz Center’s Advisory Board, and they jointly established the Donald and Andrea Tuttle Fellowship for Clean Energy Studies in 2017. This fellowship provides support to graduate students in the Energy Technology and Policy (ETaP) and Environmental Resources Engineering options of the Environmental Systems graduate program.
Don was a kind, thoughtful, and wise person. Over his long career, his persistent, careful, and historically-minded approach to environmental protection in relation to regional economic and infrastructure development has made a real and lasting difference in our community. We are grateful for his good works and leadership, and we will miss him very much.
~ Arne Jacobson
Don Tuttle greets Sintana Vergara at the opening ceremony for the West Wing of the Schatz Center in May 2018
This month, five student researchers from the Schatz team were recognized by Humboldt State University and by the Environmental Resources Engineering (ERE) department for outstanding achievements. Chih-Wei Hsu and Ciara Emery received masters degrees this December; Sabrinna Rios Romero is graduating this month with a BS in ERE; and Liszet Burgueno and Elizabeth Van Skike are a junior and senior in ERE, respectively. We’re delighted that each of them is being recognized by the campus community, and wanted to share a little about their research here at the Center.
Chih-Wei Hsu
Chih-Wei Hsu graduated in December with a MS in Environmental Systems with a concentration in Energy Technology and Policy. His thesis revealed inequities by race and income in California’s deployment of public charging infrastructure and the cost of owning an electric vehicle. At the Schatz Center, Chih-Wei contributed to transportation projects including a Climate Resilient Electrified Transit Plan for the Humboldt Transit Authority. He also contributed to energy access projects, including analyses related to off-grid solar product adoption in Uganda and the environmental footprint of backup generators in areas with unreliable electric grids.
During his time at Humboldt, Chih-Wei was also deeply engaged in the campus and local community. He was a student director for HSU’s Sponsored Programs Foundation board, a member of the Humboldt Energy Independence Fund governing committee, an active volunteer with GRID Alternatives — and helped to install the Schatz Center’s solar array in 2018! Chih-Wei is now the EV Fellow at the International Council on Clean Transportation. This month, he was awarded the Patricia O. McConkey award as an Outstanding Graduate Student.
Chih-Wei Hsu, Kristina Kunkel, and Anh Bui (left to right)
Ciara Emery
Ciara Emery graduated in December with an MA in Environment and Community. Her thesis contributed to the Center’s offshore wind feasibility research by interviewing local stakeholders to understand their perceptions of the challenges and potentials for wind farm development off Humboldt Bay. Ciara also attended conferences and workshops to evaluate the discussions being held within the community. Ciara presented her findings as part of the California State University research competition in April.
Ciara is now the Field Representative for Congressman Jared Huffman in Humboldt, Del Norte, and Trinity counties. This month, she was recognized by HSU for Outstanding Student Research.
Elizabeth Van Skike
Elizabeth Van Skike at our solar water pump test station
Elizabeth Van Skike is a 2020 recipient for the Homer Arnold award for Applied Research in Environmental Resources Engineering. A key member of our solar products test lab team since 2018, Ellie has helped perform safety, durability, and performance testing on solar lighting products and appliances — including televisions, radios, and solar water pumps. She has designed and built electrical systems and components, including a data acquisition circuit for overprotection and solar charge product tests. And, she has trained fellow student researchers and new employees on product test protocols.
Elizabeth is continuing at the Schatz Center this summer, and will work on multiple projects related to quality assurance for off-grid solar products.
Sabrinna Rios Romero
In 2018, Sabrinna Rios Romero furthered our understanding of biomass life cycles by quantifying the decay rates for the post-harvest residues of seven California crops. Measuring decay rates allows us to better assess how leaving agricultural residues in the field — versus converting them into electricity — impacts greenhouse gas emissions. Sabrinna also conducted a survey of state foresters to assess which post-logging residue pathways (e.g. piling, burning, and scattering) were most commonly used across California. And, she worked in the Center’s biomass lab to measure the performance of a gasifier system.
In addition to her Center research and engineering clubs activities, Sabrinna accomplished her ERE degree in only four years, an atypical achievement within this challenging major program!
Sabrinna Rios Romero and Steven Shoemaker (left to right), as ribbon-cutters for the grand opening of the West Wing
Liszet Burgueno
Liszet Burgueno is a second year engineering student who has excelled academically while demonstrating ongoing commitment to bettering her community. She holds officer positions in both the Renewable Energy Student Union (RESU) and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), and also works for the Humboldt Energy Independence Fund, an organization that funds the implementation of green projects on campus. In 2019, as a student research assistant at the Schatz Center, Liszet contributed substantially to a literature review and experimental protocol development for measuring greenhouse gas emissions from stored woody biomass.
Liszet is the 2020 recipient of the Engineers Without Borders award. The EWB award honors a student’s contribution to ERE club projects, fundraisers, and community service, as well as professional-student interaction and social responsibility within and outside the ERE community.
Spring 2019 student researchers (left to right): Liszet Burgueno, Craig Mitchell, Ellen Thompson, Merissa Coello, Rene DeWees, and Thalia Quinn
We are very proud of our students and their work, and we congratulate Chih-Wei, Ciara, Elizabeth, Sabrinna, and Liszet for their accomplishments. ~ Arne Jacobson
Over the past 10 years, the off-grid energy access team at the Schatz Center has worked with the World Bank Group, CLASP, and a broad range of stakeholders to develop and maintain the Lighting Global Quality Standards, which have been the backbone of the Lighting Global Quality Assurance program.
In recent years, several national governments have adopted these standards to protect their markets from poor quality products, and others have expressed interest in adoption. To ensure a harmonized approach across countries, the Lighting Global Quality Standards are now moving to the internationally recognized and familiar standards platform of the International Electrotechnical Committee (IEC).
Our team has worked diligently to transfer the current standards to a new IEC document, consulted international experts on battery and PV safety requirements, sought stakeholder feedback, and shepherded the document through the IEC review process. The new document, IEC TS 62257-9-8, is expected to be published soon, and will cover quality standards for pico-solar products and solar home system kits. The IEC document is similar to the current Lighting Global Quality Standards, but includes additional safety requirements for lithium batteries and PV modules.
On Thursday, May 7 at 13:00 GMT, VeraSol* will host a free, public webinar about the IEC document. Participants will learn how the new IEC document differs from the Lighting Global Quality Standards and receive guidance on how public and private entities can successfully transition to using the new standards.
*VeraSol is the new name for Lighting Global Quality Assurance, and reflects the organization’s addition of non-lighting appliances such as solar water pumps, refrigerators, and media and communications devices. VeraSol is managed by CLASP in collaboration with the Schatz Center, with foundational support from the World Bank, UKaid, IKEA Foundation, and others. Learn more at VeraSol.org.
On Friday, April 24 @ noon (Pacific), the California Community Choice Association will launch a new monthly webinar series. This opening event will explore innovations developed for the Redwood Coast Airport microgrid — including novel roles and responsibilities for both CCAs and utilities, new tariffs and agreements, new policies for wholesale market participation, and technical advances.
This event is free and open to the public. Register here.
Between 1-2 billion people can’t access a reliable power grid. In some communities, the grid is unstable, with power outages that total hundreds to thousands of hours each year. In others, the grid is unaffordable – or there is no grid at all. Many of these communities rely on diesel or gasoline backup generators, which emit greenhouse gases and particulate pollutants inside and in close proximity to homes, businesses, and community markets.
In 2019, scientists at the Schatz Center built a model to assess backup generator use around the globe. In this talk, project leads Peter Alstone and Nicholas Lam share their recent findings about the global impacts of backup generator use on human health, economies, and the environment. The findings shed light on the opportunity for small, solar-based systems to increase energy access in underserved communities by replacing dirty backup generators.
Nicholas Lam is a research scientist at the Schatz Center. Nick’s work focuses on the welfare impacts of clean energy transitions in low and middle income countries. Peter Alstone is a faculty scientist at the Schatz Center, and an assistant professor of environmental resources engineering at Humboldt State. Peter’s research areas include distributed energy systems and energy access, for both on and off-grid environments.
How to attend
We’re holding this semester’s Sustainable Futures Speaker Series online via webinar — visit our speaker series page for the schedule of upcoming events. Talks will be given from 5:30-7:00 pm on Thursday evenings (Pacific). Each lecture will be streamed via Zoom with closed captioning, and will be followed by a Q&A discussion period. All events are free and open to the public.
The Sustainable Futures Speaker Series stimulates interdisciplinary collaboration around issues related to energy, the environment, and society. All lectures are free and open to the public, and are sponsored by the Schatz Energy Research Center, the Environment & Community graduate program, and the College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences at Humboldt State. For Spring 2020, we’re bringing our ongoing series online via Zoom with closed captioning. Please visit schatzcenter.org/speakers for the full lineup. Questions? Email info@schatzcenter.org.
Seabird species may be at risk for collision with, or displacement by, offshore wind turbines. Existing seabird distribution models describe the density and species composition in the California Current, and are used to identify hot spots for seabird activity. However, these models do not describe the three-dimensional distribution of flight behavior above the sea surface. Understanding flight height is key to accurately modeling the risk of direct interactions between seabirds and offshore wind turbines, and is the focus of our latest offshore wind feasibility study.
Seabird flight height is known to vary as a function of species and wind speed — so this study will integrate data-driven existing 2D species distribution models, species-specific seabird flight heights as a function of wind speed, and the latest wind resource data, to make a 3D probability map of seabirds in space. This will allow us to model the risk of different turbine designs and power outputs, for locations offshore California and southern Oregon.
Our two-year project will kick off in the summer of 2020, and is being funded through a $500,000 grant through the California Energy Commission’s Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC). H. T. Harvey & Associates ecologists will synthesize 2D seabird species distribution data from records on more than 120 ship-based and aerial surveys spanning the period of 1976-2016 and provide flight-height data for all offshore species occurring in the study area, as well as contribute to model development. The Schatz Center will use the seabird model to evaluate the relative risk of seabird impacts and power production potential at sites off California, to optimize the design and location of potential wind farms.
If you’d like to receive emails about our offshore wind research and details on related webinars and presentations, please send us an email at windstudies@schatzcenter.org.
