State of energy

IREE promotes research and development of Minnesota’s renewable energy resources

Just as typewriters gave way to computers, so our finite supply of fossil fuels will one day be replaced by cleaner, renewable energy. The University is helping this vision become reality through its Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment (IREE).

In 2003 the Minnesota legislature made $20 million available to the University from money Xcel Energy provides for alternative energy development. Later that year the University formed IREE, linking researchers from disparate fields to capitalize on Minnesota's wealth of biomass (plant material) and wind, along with solar energy.

"It's all about bringing together people inside and outside the University," says Jennifer Kuzma, interim associate director of IREE and associate director of the Center for Science, Technology, and Public Policy in the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. "Our core mission is promoting research and development in Minnesota based on renewable energy."

IT dean H. Ted Davis serves on IREE's executive committee, which is chaired by College of Biological Sciences dean Robert Elde. Richard Hemmingsen, associate director of government relations, is interim director of IREE.

The initiative has its work cut out for it. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, Minnesota now spends more than $10 billion a year on energy, and about 90 percent of that money leaves the state. Turning this situation around and enabling the state to produce its own energy will boost the economy, with the added benefit of reducing carbon dioxide emissions if the energy comes from renewable sources. Led by IT, the College of Biological Sciences, the College of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, and the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, IREE sponsors projects in four "cluster areas":

Hydrogen. Besides the research by Lanny Schmidt (see "Harvesting Hydrogen") and others on finding means to produce hydrogen from renewable sources, this cluster includes work on transportation, storage, and utilization of hydrogen.

Bioenergy and bioproducts. Researchers in this area are harnessing the natural abilities of plants and microorganisms to turn biomass into energy or products, replacing traditional industrial processes with new ones that consume less energy and produce less pollution, including greenhouse gases.

Conservation and efficient energy systems. Whether we use renewable or nonrenewable energy, efficient systems for generating and conserving energy are crucial. Studies of wind- and solar-based technologies fall into this category.

Policy, economics, and ecosystems. Virtually every project intersects with work in this area, which examines the structural changes necessary to guide technologies and the economy toward renewable energy and healthy ecosystems.

So far, IREE has awarded more than $1 million for faculty projects. A list of projects is on the web at www.umn.edu/iree/funded_projects.html.

—deane morrison