Fall 2023 ELEVATE Seminar Series
November 16, 12 - 1 pm ET
In Person: Gunness Student Center (Marcus Hall)
Are heat pumps cool? Household adoption barriers in energy transitions research
Dr. Narasimha Rao, Associate Professor of Energy Systems at Yale School of the Environment
Please join ETI and ELEVATE for a seminar presented by Dr. Narasimha Rao: “The US govt projects that to meet its climate goals heat pumps would comprise up to 60 percent of heating appliance sales by 2030. In Europe as well, heat pumps are the “go to” solution for decarbonizing residential heating. However, household uptake in reality is low, and its drivers are poorly understood. Energy models represent households as idealized economic agents with arbitrary market adjustment rates to reflect slow uptake. In this talk I will present some new research on the social and contextual determinants of heating appliance ownership in New York state, and its implications for future heat pump uptake. I will also show results of a UK study that quantifies the costs of in-home retrofits, similar what could be required in the Northeast US. The talk will raise questions about how prepared we are to credibly bring knowledge from the social sciences on household decisions into energy models and projections.”
October 12, 12 pm ET
Zoom Seminar - Email for link
Energy, Equity, Housing and Health: Connecting Dots for Change
Dr. Diana Hernandez, Associate Professor of Sociomedical Sciences at Columbia University
Please join ETI and ELEVATE for a seminar presented by Dr. Diana Hernandez. She conducts research at the intersection of energy, equity, housing and health. A sociologist by training, her work examines the social and environmental determinants of health and has studied the impacts of policy and place-based interventions on the health and well-being of socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. Her foundational research on energy insecurity- defined as the inability to adequately meet household energy needs- has explored the multiple dimensions of this phenomenon identifying sociodemographic disparities, adverse consequences and promising interventions toward energy equity and justice. Much of her community-oriented research has been done in collaboration with community groups and government agencies around the country, including in the South Bronx, where she has led small-scale housing redevelopment projects. Dr. Hernandez has published over 75 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters in leading academic journals such as Social Science & Medicine, Journal of Urban Health and Energy Policy. Her ork been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the JPB, Robert Wood Johnson, and Alfred P. Sloan Foundations, among others. Professor Hernandez teaches graduate level courses on qualitative research methods, design and analysis; public health leadership; and energy justice. She is a Mayoral Appointee to NYC's Environmental Justice Advisory Board. Dr. Hernandez has written for and been featured in various media outlets including the NY Times, USA Today, BBC, NY Daily News and CityLab. Her first book about energy insecurity in the US is due to be published in 2024.
Fall 2022 ELEVATE Seminar Series
March 9, 2022
Gunness Student Center
Marcus Hall
The inequitable benefits of energy
Gregor Semieniuk, the Political Economy Research Institute at UMass
Marisa Sotolongo, The Initiative for Energy Justice and Northeastern University
This will be an interactive joint seminar on the topic of equality in energy benefits, with our two speakers each presenting for ~15 minutes followed by 30 minutes of guided group discussion afterwards, with snack and drinks to follow. Gregor will be speaking about unequal benefits across socio-economic groups from the 2022 high oil and gas profits in energy in the United States and what that might imply for policy action in this area. Marisa will be speaking about how benefits are defined in an environmental justice framework and how we incorporate restorative justice (remediating past harms or restoring human-nature relationships) into benefits programs (such as the Justice40 Initiative).
March 23, 2022
Gunness Student Center
Marcus Hall
The energy transition and wind potential in Puerto Rico
Umberto Ciri, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at UPRM
After the widespread devastation of hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, and a series of earthquakes in 2020, Puerto Rico is now at a critical moment in the effort to modernize its electricity grid and generation infrastructure, which currently relies heavily on conventional fossil fuel plants. In addition, Puerto Rico has adopted an aggressive energy transition policy, which includes 100% electricity generation by renewable sources by 2050, and responds to a community-driven push for a sustainable and resilient energy supply. In this talk, we will first review the current status and ongoing transition efforts, which range from changes in the generation portfolio to adopting new distribution strategies. We will then present an assessment of Puerto Rico renewable energy resources, based on numerical simulations of the regional atmospheric circulation. In particular, as an island Puerto Rico offers easy access to marine resources, and the fast-growing offshore wind energy industry is a promising alternative to catalyze the green transition. We will present an evaluation of the local wind energy potential and discuss specific opportunities and challenges.