Sustainable Energy Systems

We seek new opportunities to apply emerging technologies to generate and store clean energy through technical innovation and strategic policy analysis.

Research Themes

Renewables and waste-to-energy technologies

Systems integration

Batteries and storage

Efficiency and use

Policy and economic analysis

End-of-life management

Featured Work

solar panel energy station

Microgrid Implementation Modeling

GIS researchers created a model to simulate a microgrid’s performance in terms of distributed generation, storage, and load. The simulation uncovered ways to promote mutually beneficial collaboration between microgrid owners and utility companies.
Partners: New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and Rochester Gas & Electric

research working on solar panel prototype

Excess-Heat Recovery System for Solar Panels

GIS researchers enhanced a startup's design for photovoltaic (PV) panels that recover excess heat for complementary use. Enhancements improved coolant flow and mechanical robustness, resulting in a design that was commercially viable, cost-effective, and manufacturable.
Partner: Tyll Solar LLC

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workers installing solar panel on brown roof

Integrated Framework for Analyzing Technology Subsidies

GIS researchers created a data model that policymakers can use to forecast the interplay of technology progress, consumer adoption, and emissions reductions within a given region in order to set optimal subsidies for residential solar.
Partner: National Science Foundation

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close up of solar panels

Low-Cost, High-Efficiency Solar Cells

GIS researchers aim to dramatically reduce the cost of high-efficiency solar cells by using a process called spalling to make the substrates solar cells are grown on reusable.
Partner: U.S. Department of Energy

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strip cut in green grass

Prototype Lawn Mower Powered by Hydrogen Fuel Cell

GIS researchers created a propane-fuel reformer and fuel-cell stack and integrated it into a lawnmower prototype. The result offered a more sustainable power source option than conventional fossil fuels like gasoline.
Partner: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

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aerial view of rural village

Electricity Growth and Use in Developing Economies

GIS researchers created a guide to improve understanding of electricity demand in developing regions to inform utilities planning and operations and to explore how electrical energy can unlock economic growth and development.
Partners: University of Massachusetts - Amherst, Carnegie Mellon University, Columbia University, Colorado School of Mines, and the Rockefeller Foundation

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fuel cell testbed

World-Class Facilities

Our facilities cover over 84,000 square feet, and include large industrial high bays, labs, testbeds, and conference spaces.

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