The Nebraska Center for Energy Sciences Research is pleased to announce the new Water, Energy and Agriculture Initiative through which UNL faculty may now compete for $290,000 in grant funding for research and demonstration projects focused on the goal of reducing peak-load electrical demand and energy consumption. The WEIA request for proposal was released on July 21, 2008. The deadline for UNL faculty to register their intent to submit a proposal is August 1, 2008; and the deadline for proposals is August 29, 2008.

Click above to watch any of our new short videos: including an overview of the Energy Center, seven energy research projects and the Biofuel Energy Systems Simulator.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln created a new interdisciplinary minor in energy sciences, beginning in fall 2008. Funding for the initial development of this new interdisciplinary minor came from the Nebraska Center for Energy Sciences Research, a collaboration between the Nebraska Public Power District and UNL. The Energy Center provided an energy education seed grant to faculty to develop the energy sciences minor. For more information, go to the UNL news release and Energy Sciences Minor is the major issue of our generation!

The Extension Ethanol and Biodiesel Workgroup started with the help of an energy education grant from the Nebraska Center for Energy Sciences Research. Go to http://bioenergy.unl.edu/ for information on agriculturally-based, sustainable energy sources including biofuels, ethanol co-product feeding, economics, economic development, cropping systems, water and biodiesel as these topics relate to the bioenergy industry. Go to http://bioenergy.unl.edu/forums.shtml for information on the monthly Biofuels Forum, which is presented over the internet. Previous forums are also archived at this site.

The "Nebraska Wind Application Center" is being made possible at the University of Nebraska with funds from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory according to Dr. Jerry Hudgins, Head - Department of Electrical Engineering. Receiving an energy research grants from the Nebraska Center for Energy Sciences Research (NCESR) for Low-Cost Production of Hydrogen from Wind Sources started Dr. Jerry Hudgins, Head - Department of Electrical Engineering and his project team focusing on wind-related issues. As a direct result, Dr. Hudgins worked with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and received $120,000 in total funding to develop the Nebraska Wind Applications Center to run the "Wind for Schools" in Nebraska. The project will receive $40,000 per year for the next three years. Click here for the Wind for Schools Program Overview. In addition to this wind work, Dr. Hudgins is the leader of the 21st Century Power Generating Systems focus area of The Future of UNL Energy Sciences Programs: 2007-2001 and the Principal Investigator for a second NCESR-funded research project titled The Viability of Wind Generation for Farm & Rural Communities.