The URI Energy Center is currently hosting an energy seminar series for the campus community and general public.  The seminars are designed to be of broad interest to benefit the suite of stakeholders in the state concerned about energy.  All lectures are free and open to the public.

Read the press release!

February 6, 2008, 4:00pm

Weaver Auditorium, Coastal Institute, Kingston Campus

RI’s Comprehensive Energy Program Gaining Control of Our Energy Future: Energy Efficiency & Clean Energy Resources

Sam Krasnow, Environment Northeast, Inc.

In the context of the enormous strain energy costs place on consumers and on the regional economy, Sam will discuss the urgent challenges we face to make our energy system more sustainable, independent and cleaner while addressing the need for energy reliability and energy security. What policy reforms are needed on a state and regional basis to shift consumer dollars from higher priced power plants towards lower cost efficiency and demand side resources? How can we diversify our energy mix with clean renewable resources that help hedge against volatile oil and natural gas prices? What steps must we take to remove the barriers to energy efficiency?

Sam joined Environment Northeast in September 2005 as the group’s Boston-based policy advocate and attorney. He focuses on climate change, diesel emission reduction, and energy policy.  Sam holds a JD from Yale Law School, where he was awarded the C. LaRue Munson Prize for excellence in clinical work, and a master of environmental management degree from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. He received his BA with high honors in economics from Oberlin College.

Download the lecture slides (PDF)

March 5, 2008, 4:00pm

Corliss Auditorium, Watkins Buidling, URI GSO in Narragansett

Ethical Dwelling: The Relationship Between Energy & Ethics

Kenneth Payne, URI CELS Senior Policy Advisor

This lecture will explore the relationship between individual and community choices and energy use. It will examine issues of context and values and temporally specific and will conclude with observations about public policy design.  From an energy perspective, what does it mean to live a good life in healthy communities in Rhode Island?  How can we engage in constructive action to get to where we want to be?

Ken Payne is currently Senior Policy Advisor for the URI College of Environment and Life Sciences and Adjunct Professor of Marine Affairs.  Ken began is work on energy issues when he was a graduate student in Community Planning at URI.  The relationship of energy issues to the environment and community development in Rhode Island have an on-going concern for him.  Ken recently served as director of the RI Senate Policy Office and in that capacity wrote major legislation regarding energy policy in Rhode Island.  He served on the staff of US Senator Claiborne Pell, with specific attention to RI energy infrastructure, and was executive director of the RI League of Cities and Towns.  In addition to holding a Masters Degree in Community Planning from URI, Ken has a Ph.D. in planning from the University of Massachusetts.

Download the lecture slides (PPT)

April 2, 2008, 4:00pm

Weaver Auditorium, Coastal Institute, Kingston Campus

Efficient Energy Use in the Production Sector

John Farley, The Energy Council of Rhode Island

Industrial energy use accounts for more than a third of all energy consumption in Rhode Island.  John Farley currently serves as the Executive Director of the Energy Council of Rhode Island (TEC-RI).  He will discuss his work with TEC-RI to improve the energy efficiency of RI industry through dissemination of innovative energy efficiency technologies and practices.  TEC-RI is a non-profit energy consortium made up of many of the largest commercial and industrial users of energy in Rhode Island.  TEC-RI’s objective is to lower the cost of energy for Rhode Island businesses while preserving environmental quality and adequate supply. 

John is also the President of John Farley Consulting, an independent energy consulting firm specializing in the retail energy business.  He has twenty-four years of professional experience in the energy field.  A native Rhode Islander, he has completed demand-side management projects to benefit customers in over 30 states and several foreign countries. 

Download the lecture slides (PPT)

April 16, 2008, 5:00pm

Weaver Auditorium, Coastal Institute, URI Kingston Campus

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative in Rhode Island

Michael Sullivan, Director, RI Dept. of Environmental Mgmt.

Stephen Majkut, RI Dept. of Environmental Management

Matt Auten, Environment Rhode Island

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI, is a cooperative effort by Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states to reduce carbon dioxide emissions – a greenhouse gas that causes global warming. This seminar will discuss and future policies to address climate change in Rhode Island. There will be three speakers taking part in the event.

Michael Sullivan, director of the Department of Environmental Management will speak about the importance of the RGGI policy in Rhode Island. Steve Majkut, chief of air resources for the Department of Environmental Management, has been instrumental in developing this policy. He will speak about what the RGGI is, how it will be implemented, and where it currently stands in the state. Matt Auten works for the non profit organization Environment Rhode Island. He will be speaking about climate change in Rhode Island and the current legislation that is being pushed to build upon the RGGI policy.

Download the lecture slides:

Stephen Majkut - RGGI (PPT)

Matt Auten - Energy Legislation in RI (PPT)

April 23, 2008, 4:00pm

Atrium II, Memorial Union, URI Kingston Campus

Opportunities for Energy Conservation in Transportation

Mark Therrien, Assistant General Manager, RIPTA

About 28 percent of the energy used in Rhode Island goes to move people and goods throughout the state.  Transportation accounts for about 37 percent of the state's total greenhouse gas emissions, beating out all other sources such as electricity, residential, commercial, and industrial.  Rhode Island's public transportation system can play a vital role in creating a healthier state but it is an uphill battle.

Therrien's lecture will outline the challenges and opportunities Rhode Island faces in developing efficient transportation systems, including encouraging bigger investments in transit, cleaner operating cars, and cleaner fuels.