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Global demand for oil and other liquid fuels is expected to grow to 113 million barrels a day by 2030, roughly one-third more than is consumed today. Much of that growth will be attributable to the developing economies in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.
But supplies may not grow that fast. Oil production is decreasing in 54 of the world’s top 65 oil-producing nations. The International Energy Agency, a Paris-based intergovernmental organization that advises 27 industrial nations, predicts oil production will peak in 2040 at 100 million barrels a day.
“It’s a long-term problem,” says Robert Amundsen, associate professor of energy management in NYIT’s School of Engineering and Computing Sciences. “Oil supplies are going to be tight for years to come. Our whole economy has assumed we will have cheap supplies of oil, which we will not have from now on.”
The high oil prices have sent a jolt through the U.S. economic system, already grappling with fallout from the sub-prime mortgage crisis, failure of financial institutions, falling real estate values, and rising unemployment. Last August, retail prices rose more than 5 percent compared to their level one year ago, the highest jump since 1991, due in large part to higher energy costs.
“That puts the Federal Reserve in a tough spot,” says Paul Kutasovic, associate professor and chairman of the Department of Economics and Quantitative Methods in NYIT’s School of Management. “Should the Fed raise interest rates to fight inflation or lower them to encourage growth and address rising unemployment?”
At NYIT campuses, the 21st-century energy crisis has sparked strong interest in energy management courses, influenced the teaching of architecture and urban planning, and encouraged innovative thinking by students and faculty members who want to create new technologies to come to grips with the changing energy marketplace.
NYIT, whose energy management program was established in 1980, is one of three in the nation to offer such a master’s degree, which trains students in energy conservation, alternative energy, on-site power, and facilities management. Each year, 50 graduates from NYIT with this degree find positions in energy companies around the world.
“My phone is ringing off the hook,” says Amundsen. “I get calls every day from people who want to hire energy managers. There aren’t enough graduates to fill all of the jobs.”
Home Improvement
Campus engineers and energy experts have embarked on several projects to create a more energy-efficient NYIT and to develop an electrified transportation system. These projects are funded in part by a $500,000 federal grant that NYIT received with the help of U.S. Representative Steve Israel (D-Huntington).
The campuswide “greenprint” initiative will calculate the university’s carbon footprint--the emissions generated by electricity use, heating, and cooling systems, and commuting to and from campus. Energy-efficiency measures include occupancy sensors for classrooms, water-saving fixtures such as low-flow toilets and shower heads, recycling programs, and using biodiesel fuel derived from left-over cooking oil at NYIT’s dining facilities.
Municipal officials on Long Island are also seeking advice from NYIT professors as they consider adopting green technology for government buildings.
“Many of the towns are coming to us for help,” says Mruk. “They are often flooded with proposals and ideas that they often need help evaluating.”
One of the most visible projects at the Old Westbury campus will be solar carports, which will be constructed during the spring 2009 semester. Designed to serve next-generation plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), the carports will eventually be located in suburban parking lots, which are typically vast expanses of unshaded land that are perfect for solar power generation.
“We want to be part of the effort to electrify transportation,” says Daniel Rapka (M.S. ’07), laboratory manager and instructor in NYIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. “PHEVs with renewable solar energy offer great potential to offset petroleum consumption with clean energy.”
The system to be installed at NYIT is expected to generate more energy from renewable sources than the cars use for a typical commute on Long Island. Atop the carport are photovoltaic modules that transform the sun’s rays into electricity. The electricity can be used to charge the hybrid’s battery through a plug-in at the carport or sold to the power grid. Future plans will investigate two-way power exchange, called vehicle-to-grid (V2G) sharing. During the day, while cars are parked in the lots, vehicle-based batteries can be energy storage devices linked to the grid.
If outfitted with communication devices to monitor and transfer power back to the grid, the utilities could tap the parked cars for energy instead of firing up a diesel-powered generator during times of peak demand.
“Imagine a huge parking lot with carports on a hot, sunny day,” says Rapka. “Instead of turning on the high-cost, dirty power plant, with V2G they could tap into a parking lot full of plug-in hybrids.”
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