Since our last newsletter, the still-new Environmental and Energy Management Institute (EEMI) was awarded two new research grants, bringing the Institute’s total number of research awards to date to five. Under the leadership of Principal Investigator Ekundayo Shittu, the Duke Energy Renewables Innovation Fund awarded a grant of $39,000 for the project “Microgrid Financing: Challenges and Solutions.” The project will provide multi-disciplinary policy relevant research on microgrids to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve the resiliency of the electricity system, and enhance customer options. Prof. Shittu’s team will look at states like California, Connecticut, and New Jersey that have invested in microgrids to see what they can learn from their models, and they will assess financial barriers, technical design, and development of policies to support investment. More information on the award can be seen at https://gwtoday.gwu.edu/meet-inaugural-duke-energy-renewables-innovatio…. In addition, Principal Investigator Jonathan Deason, co-Director of the EEMI, was awarded a $89,849 six-month grant by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Energy, Installations & Environment) to provide technical and management support to the Chemical & Material Risk Management Program of the Department of Defense. EEMI Senior Research Scientist Kelly Scanlon and EEMI Visiting Scholar Alex Beehler will be the key investigators for this project. These two new awards bring to five the total number of grants received to date by the EEMI. Previous awards were:
• 75,000 from the Potomac Electric Power Company for the project “Smart Energy Consumer Education,” Professors Jonathan Deason, Joe Cascio and Ekundayo Shittu
• $74,428 from the National Institute of Standards and Technology for the project “GW Standards Education Initiative,” Professors Joe Cascio and Jonathan Deason
• $74,987 from the Department of Defense for the project “Investment Risk Mitigation and Cost-Benefit Analysis of DOD’s Energy Technology Deployments,” Professors Ekundayo Shittu and Jonathan Deason
In addition, the EEMI has four proposals that have been submitted and which presently are under consideration by the sponsoring organizations. These proposals are as follows:
Duke Energy Solar Farm
- $549,321 from the Suez North America Foundation for the project “Public Private Partnerships and New Financing Models for Water and Wastewater System Investment and Renewal,” Professors Royce Francis, Jonathan Deason and Joe Cascio
- $98,000 from the GW Cross-Disciplinary Research Fund for the project “Developing a Decision Support System to Accelerate Solar Technology Adoption in Low and Middle Income Households,” Professor Ekundayo Shittu
- $74,332 from the National Institute of Standards and Technology for the project “Standards Services Curricula Development,” Professors Joe Cascio and Jonathan Deason
- $1,749,137 from the Department of Energy for the project “The George Washington University Industrial Assessment Center,” Professors Saniya LeBlanc, Ekundayo Shittu and Jonathan Deason