Exploring solar energy’s potential and the cost of
reducing greenhouse gas emissions
USDA awards $4.5
million to explore
agriculture and
water management
on tribal lands
RESEARCH
In early 2015, DRI scientists
were part of a unique team
of researchers awarded a
competitive $4.5 million grant
by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture’s Agriculture and
Food Research Initiative.
The “Native Waters on Arid
Lands” project integrates
research and extension to help
Great Basin and Southwestern
tribal communities develop
plans, policies and practices
for sustainable agriculture and
water management.
The five-year project brings
together faculty and students
from three of the West’s
1862 land-grant institutions—
University of Nevada, Reno,
University of Arizona and
Utah State University; First
Americans (1994) LandGrant Consortium (FALCON);
Federally Recognized Tribal
Extension Program instructors
in Nevada and Arizona; Desert
Research Institute; U.S.
Geological Survey; and Ohio
University. The program team
also includes tribal members
from Nevada, Utah, Arizona
and New Mexico.
P
ublished in Solar Energy, a report authored by Xiaowei “Vivian” Liu,
Ph.D.,—recipient of the Nell J. Redfield Foundation Post-Doctoral
Fellowship in Renewable Energy—used data collected from DRI’s eight
solar photovoltaic (PV) systems to create realistic estimates of cost and
environmental performance.
Working within DRI’s Clean Technology and Renewable Energy Center
(CTREC), Liu and her colleagues examined several variables such as
greenhouse-gas (GHG) reduction of solar electricity, cost per ton of CO2
avoided, and the “energy payback time” of DRI’s solar PV systems.
Their results showed that over 90 percent of the lifetime GHG
emissions and 75 percent of the total energy used can be attributed to
the manufacturing process. Based on their Life Cycle Analysis (LCA)
calculations, the energy payback time of DRI’s six large-scale solar PV
systems ranges from 3.6 to 4.9 years. The economic payback time is
approximately 15 years.
The report also showed that DRI’s six large-scale solar PV systems are
highly effective in reducing GHG emissions.
DRI’s solar-generation projects were made possible thanks to the
financial incentives provided through NV Energy’s Solar Generations
program, the Governor’s Office of Energy revolving loans program, the
State Public Works Board and the State Attorney General’s Office.
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