eBike in your future and (update) Local Renewable Energy Summer Program at UCSC

Last Friday morning, (August 21) the US and international students participating in UCSC's Local Renewable Energy Summer Program gave their project presentations:

• Desalination - in California and perhaps Jordan
  
• Solar - from Sahara to Europe
• Rentable electric bikes on UCSC - can't wait!
• Data centers - solar cooling for Data Centers
  
• Airships in LA - yes, it's can be true - hop/skip/jump between airfields around the city
• Methane in barns - capturing and using it for electricity.
  

Unfortunately, my favorite, the airships sprinting over LA traffic turned out to be not so feasible  (ex:  time loading/unloading passengers).    That's part of process and these project groups had no amateurs:  1 team had 2 Ph.D students, 3 masters students; some in engineering, 1 in biology and 1 in business; and almost as many countries.  Several teams had taked with venture capitalist, for advice - not with goal of starting a business, and well analyzed for technological, financial, political feasibility.[Reportedly the airship team is now talking to Dept of Defense, but I hope they were joking.]

The projects varied from local to international, from applying technology in new or novel ways (barn methane, airships over LA) , or developing a business plan (solar energy to power energy intensive data centers, eBikes to UCSC)  or changing policy (using California's desal expertise to Jordan's sun and limited water).

After the airship went down (no, not in flames, it would use helium), I found the eBikes (electric bikes) practical for right here in Santa Cruz.

eBikes

With 19,000 car trips a day to campus, full buses and bike racks, everyone knows UCSC needs to improve.   According to an 2008 study, bicycles represent only 3-5% of traffic on campus and the major impediment, of course, is the hill.   Enter electric bikes.



Although tried before, in 2001 or here   the eBike group wants to try a small initial program of 20 bikes, rented by the quarter to UCSC students, as early as spring 2010 - if they get funding.  They estimated needing $10,000-$20,000 for bike purchase, insurance, overhead, repairs and they would also have to solve problems like save storage on campus (batteries and parts are not easy to secure).   Bicycle cages or lockers used by the city of Santa Cruz are not cheap.


Let's hope by 2010, some 20 lucky UCSC students will pay $200+ or so a quarter (plus $4 for each battery recharge) and be cruisng up the hill, with a carbon footprint 97% less than car drivers.

Let's also not overlook a possible brighter side of global change:  the opportunity for young people to work creatively in international, interdisciplinary teams on demanding problems that really can make a difference. 



Videos of all the presentations be available approximately by Labor Day.





Special thanks to Ali Shakouri, Associate Professor, Electrical Engineering, Baskin School of Engineering, UC and his staff and counterparts in Denmark and the US for organizing this.