Click here for information on the energy projects underway, tasks, and status.
The School of Engineering and Computer Science is home to the Clean Energy Research Center, or CERC. The CERC is the home of multiple, clean energy research, development, and educational activities. The CERC fosters commercial partnerships, provides an educational platform for student research and hands-on clean energy demonstrations, while providing an entrepreneurial atmosphere within the OU R&D community to allow technology transfer and commercialization of new technologies.
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click above for floorplan
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Role and Services
Mission Statement
Clean Energy Research Center (CERC) scientists, engineers and collaborators are conducting and demonstrating applied research and facilitating private sector investment to achieve a 40% energy reduction in existing industrial, commercial and institutional buildings in the Southeast Michigan tri-county region. The CERC effort will deliver energy efficiency solutions, innovation and new clean energy jobs today while providing significant natural resource, environmental and economic impact by 2020. The CERC is uniquely situated in the heart of the innovative Automation Ally, within the counties of Macomb, Oakland, and Wayne which comprise 40% of the State’s population and a majority of the State’s economic activity.
Description of the Problem
During the 20th century, energy efficiency of our cars, trains, planes and factory floors have systematically improved. However, during the past forty years the energy efficiency of our building stock has not improved. Buildings consume about 40% of the nation’s energy. Here in Michigan, this equates to about $12 billion in energy costs, much of which flows out of the State, to other parts of the U.S. and to foreign countries.
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| Multiple projects have been completed or are in various stages of development. The projects will research and demonstrate technologies in energy efficient buildings, solar, combined heat and power (CHP), biomass, and wind energy. These projects include: |
Click here for
OU & US Energy Flow Diagrams
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click below for videos of OU clean energy projects:
- Geothermal heat pump research and demonstrations
- Smart grid / smart metering demonstrations
- LED and emerging lighting technologies
- Solar thermal systems
- Solar PV systems
- Biomass heating and biomass CHP systems
- On‐site solid fuel biomass densification lab
- On‐site biodiesel production lab
- On‐site ethanol production lab
Visit
www.oakland.edu/energy for more information on energy projects at Oakland.
For further information, please contact:
Amy Butler
Executive Director of the OU Incubator
248-648-4800
aabutler@oakland.edu email
Jim Leidel
Director of Clean Energy Systems
248-648-4805
leidel@oakland.edu email
Chris Kobus
Assoc. Professor of Mech Engineering
& Director of Engineering / Energy Education
248-370-2489
cjkobus@oakland.edu email
RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, and DEMONSTRATION INTERESTS:
ENERGY EFFICIENT TECHNOLOGIES
PROJECT DEVELOPMENT
- Project finance
- Community project development and finance
BIOMASS ENERGY
Utilization of various biomass resources such as:
Using various processes:
- Densification of biomass for improved handling and logistics
- Direct combustion
- Co-firing in existing coal boilers
- Bio-chemical conversion
- Thermo-chemical conversion
To produce various forms of useful energy or products
Further Reading and Research into Biomass:
SOLAR ENERGY
WIND ENERGY
- Wind energy resource assessment
- Low wind speed wind turbines
- Tall towers