Problem/ Solution Statement Problem. California’s forest health crisis is an emergency of unprecedented scope and scale, with disastrous implications for the state’s environment, economy, energy systems, and human life. Unlike essentially all other technologies and solutions proposed to respond to the crisis, gasification has the potential to process forest waste in a way that extracts value and sequesters a large portion of its carbon. Before the recipient’s development of the pre- commercial Powertainer technology, no one had developed gasification technology that could economically respond to the problem. As a result, there have not yet been any large-scale deployments of distributed, commercial-scale gasification technology. The acceleration of tree mortality and persistent drought conditions make finding solutions to this problem more critical with each passing day.
Problem/ Solution Statement Problem. Climate change poses an urgent and significant threat to California and the nation. California has taken a leadership position in supporting cutting edge science to understand the nature of the threat and possible actions to mitigate that impact. However, California cannot solve this threat alone and does not have all of the solutions.
Problem/ Solution Statement Problem. Future offshore wind development in California will create a risk to seabirds for collision or displacement. Existing seabird models, which describe the density and species composition in the California Current, can be used to identify hot spots for seabird activity, but these models do not delineate the presence of seabirds at different heights above the sea surface. Without incorporating flight height and how flight behavior changes with wind speed, it is difficult to accurately estimate the potential impact to seabirds from offshore wind farms. As different size turbines are being designed for use in an offshore environment, the existing two-dimensional spatial models of seabird populations will be unable to estimate the difference in potential impacts
Problem/ Solution Statement Problem. The Recipient has experienced significant increase in Solar Photovoltaic (PV) interconnection requests in recent years, and this trend is expected to continue. This high level of Solar PV adoption requires a host of grid modernization efforts to manage the substantial progress the Recipient envisions in decarbonizing the electricity provided on the electrical system. The existing paradigm for integration of renewables is based around legacy enterprise control solutions (i.e. existing functions such as state estimation and optimization) and a relatively static distribution planning approach. Dynamic visualization of capacity, automation of the interconnection process, and self-discovery of new devices into distributed control subsystems as part of a hierarchical control paradigm are required to achieve scalable integration of Distributed Energy Resources (DER) in excess of 50% of peak load. These distributed control capabilities will enable distributed intelligence and control capability to support fast, automated decisions and improve overall resiliency of the distribution grid system.
Problem/ Solution Statement Problem. The size of wind turbine towers is constrained by transportation size and weight making conventional towers prohibitively expensive for larger next-generation turbines in California. Overhead traffic signals, road width and weight regulations limit conventional steel tubular towers to sub-optimal diameters of 4.3 meters (14 feet.). As a result, the tallest wind turbine towers installed in California are 100-meter (m) tall with turbine capacity of 3.3-megawatts (MW).
Problem/ Solution Statement Problem. To achieve robust zero emissions targets, cities and load-serving entities require advanced energy solutions that enable the cost-effective deployment and integration of distributed and renewable energy resources, and the cost-efficient rehabilitation of homes to a near Zero Net Carbon standard.3 Achieving these outcomes in disadvantaged communities requires a combination of innovative technology, scaled finance, and the inclusive engagement of cities, NGOs, and community residents.
Problem/ Solution Statement Problem. California processes over one million tons of grapes per year and produces nearly 100 percent of raisins in the U.S.2 Processing and packaging raisins is an energy intensive process which involves substantial natural gas use. The facility currently uses an oversized boiler and steam lines as a means of delivering hot water throughout the facility – a system that is highly inefficient, costly, and difficult to maintain.
Problem/ Solution Statement Problem. Mechanical steam traps are one of the leading causes for steam loss within a steam system. While methods exist to monitor the performance of the steam traps, this is often labor intensive and requires knowledge on how to accurately assess performance. Often steam traps will fail and cause a substantial amount of steam loss, which increases natural gas use and GHG emissions and causes process and production issues. With natural gas prices being low, there is a cost barrier to implementing new energy efficient technologies to reduce natural gas use and GHG emissions.
Problem/ Solution Statement Problem. Onsite industrial emissions represent about one-quarter of California’s overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Significant reductions in GHG emissions can be achieved by transitioning from refrigeration systems that use high-GWP refrigerants to those that use low-GWP and ultra-low- GWP refrigerants. Inefficient industrial equipment leads to higher energy consumption and higher consequent GHG emissions. Businesses cannot justify the large upfront costs of more efficient equipment without demonstration and verification of benefits.
Problem/ Solution Statement Problem. The need for affordable housing throughout California is critical. There is no greater need than in Stockton; one of the state’s poorest communities. One out of every 4.5 residents of its approximately 300,000 residents live in poverty--dramatically higher than the 15.1 percent State average. Per the City’s Housing Element, 7,000 (41 percent) of Xxxxxxxx’x 17,000 senior households 65 years of age or older have a housing-cost burden. Many seniors’ only source of income is Supplemental Security Income (SSI) which currently provides $794 per month for an individual and $1,191 for an eligible couple. As such, SSI recipients are likely to have difficulty finding housing that fits within their budgets. Additionally, 42 percent of Xxxxxxxx’x seniors are disabled. Many do not have the financial and/or physical capacity to own and/or drive a car and thus are reliant on public transportation to complete their daily tasks such as getting to the grocery store and medical appointments. The built environment can exacerbate this problem by construction practices, location of buildings and CO2 emissions from building operations. This can cause global and regional air quality issues as well as indoor air quality challenges that can greatly impact the health and well-being of occupants. Green buildings, energy efficient technologies, and housing near amenities do exist, but are often not available for lower income households. Developers designing and constructing affordable senior housing today are currently constrained by market conditions and budget impracticalities and are thus disincentivized to explore and ultimately include innovative, emerging and new technologies in their projects. Sustainable design and construction techniques, advanced building materials, and technological advancements are slow to break into the market. Building systems are typically static binary systems; in simple terms, they are either “on” or “off.” When a tenant feels hot they adjust the thermostat and the HVAC system switches from off to on. Many variables, including human behavior or personality, could influence this action which leads to energy use. Energy use, which is often priced on a sliding scale based on demand, has a high demand load during specific times during the day. Individuals also have unique, yet predictable routines and energy use patterns. These patterns, established at both the individual and community level, are not yet factored into refining efficiency of energy use of ...
