A Texas A&M University National Energy Opinion Poll shows that most Americans are in favor of policies supporting the development of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency, but not if it means increasing the price of gasoline.

According to the national survey, conducted by the Institute for Science, Technology and Public Policy (ISTPP) at the Texas A&M Bush School of Government and Public Service in cooperation with the Texas A&M Energy Institute, 59 percent of Americans support increased funding for research and development of renewable energy sources and 60 percent support tax cuts for companies to develop renewable energy technologies. Additionally, 78 percent of the public strongly favors better fuel efficiency for cars and trucks. However, 68.3 percent of those surveyed are against increasing the price of gasoline to encourage energy savings.

The survey also found that Americans are concerned about the national security impacts of foreign oil, with 43.2 percent saying they believe that dependence on foreign oil threatens national security "a great deal" with an additional 36.5 percent saying that oil dependence threatens security to "some" extent.

Of the respondents, 64.8 percent feel that it is "very important" for the U.S. to reduce its dependence on foreign oil.Furthermore, 60.6 percent acknowledge that the U.S. is "likely" to "extremely likely" to face a critical energy shortage in the next 10 years.

The national survey of U.S. adults over the age of 18 was administered online from May 11-May 26, 2012, and includes 1,525 respondents.

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Bluenergy Solarwind, Inc. (www.bluenergyusa.com) has announced the award of a collaborative project with Texas A&M University's Energy Institute and the Department of Aerospace Engineering to continue development of a family of small wind turbines including a novel, hybrid solar-wind turbine.

Researchers at the Texas A&M Department of Aerospace Engineering will develop a detailed computational fluid dynamic (CFD) and mechanical design analyses leading to the technical design of the wind turbine, expanding on design efforts by Bluenergy Solarwind's concept engineering partner, TEAM Technologies, of Albuquerque, New Mexico. According to Project Principal Investigator Ed White, Texas A&M Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering, the project will culminate in a full-scale prototype design and the construction of a subscale model for test in Texas A&M's Oran Nicks Low Speed Wind Tunnel during a follow-on second phase of the project.

Bluenergy Solarwind's double-helix, vertical-axis turbine design provides optimized generation in low wind speeds, 8-15 mph, and produces power in winds up to 90 mph. The Savonius-type wind turbine features solar cells coated with a fluoropolymer film that can capture sunlight from any angle and be affixed to curved surfaces. The hybrid arrangement allows for a significantly higher operating capacity factor than other turbines.

John Pappas, Director of the Texas A&M Wind Energy Center and Associate Director of the Texas A&M Energy Institute, was recently interviewed for an article in the Houston Chronicle which discussed how governmental support of the alternative energy industry has dwindled in recent months but the industry itself is moving forward to meet the continued demand (story below).

With or without subsidies, the work continues

By Jeannie Kever| November 1, 2012|
Updated: November 2, 2012 8:14am 

Some major chemical and energy companies cut their investments in renewable energy over the past few weeks, saying their shareholders deserved quicker payouts.  And the Texas Public Utility Commission just last week spurned a request from environmental groups to set a target for solar-generated electricity sooner than 2025.

But if any of that was meant to signal the end of alternative energy, someone forgot to tell the industry. It may be at a crossroads, but it isn't down and out, said John Pappas, director of the Wind Energy Center at Texas A&M University. "The supply chain has clearly taken a hit, but there are still opportunities," he said.

A credit that gives wind generators a 2.2-cent tax break for every kilowatt-hour of power produced expires at the end of this year. Without congressional action, it will disappear regardless of who's elected president. And tax breaks will face scrutiny as the government seeks to boost revenue, which could make it politically challenging to renew the wind credit. 

"Given the deficit, it's going to be a higher bar," said Amy Myers Jaffe, executive director of energy and sustainability at the University of California at Davis.

Cheap and abundant natural gas has created another obstacle, offering some of the benefits people associate with renewable energy. Still, research is continuing and market share growing.

Wind provided 8.5 percent of electricity to the portion of the Texas grid served by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas in 2011, up from 1 percent in 2004.

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With a generous donation of $40,000 from ConocoPhillips, the Energy Institute awarded eight fellowships to support outstanding graduate students doing energy research.  Over 40 applicants from 16 departments were nominated for this competitive award.  The award recipients are known as "Energy Institute Fellows."

Each month, a Fellow will be featured in the highlights section of News Briefs.  This month's featured Fellow is Christopher Lyons who is a PhD student in the department of Plant Pathology & Microbiology.

Christopher's research project is entitled "Understanding Plant Associated Microorganisms - Viral Infections of Bioenergy Grasses."  For a brief abstract of Christopher's research, click here.   

To see the complete listing of EI Fellows, visit our web site at http://energy.tamu.edu.

Texas A&M University
Dr. Robert S. Balog, Assistant Professor, Dept. Electrical and Computer Engineering; Director, Renewable Energy & Advanced Power Electronics Research Laboratory

- Bill Cook, College of Engineering

- Rachael Dahl, Mosbacher Institute

- Lauren Pfeifer, Masters in International Affairs (Finance/Economics)

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You keep hearing about all of the energy research going on around Texas A&M University but do you know who is doing the research? That information, and more, can be found on the Energy Institute's web site at our new web address energy.tamu.edu.

Currently, there are nearly 150 faculty researchers listed by research area - Bioenergy, Electric Power, Energy Efficiency, Geothermal, Nuclear, Oil & Gas, Solar and Wind. Clicking on the desired research area will take you to a page specific to that area. Once there, click on the "Faculty Expertise" tab which will direct you to a listing of all of the faculty members doing research in that area and their areas of expertise.

If you are involved in energy research at Texas A&M University and are not listed on the EI web site and would like to be, please contact Robyn Pearson at rlpearson@tamu.edu.