NERI, National Energy Research Institute

Education Projects

Energy Efficient Schools is now available online.

An interactive web version of our resource for schools, Energy efficient schools. A guide for trustees, principals, teachers, students, caretakers, and energy managers has been developed with funding from the Ministry of Education. The resource was produced in collaboration with the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) and The Enviroschools Foundation and additional tools and material from NERI and these agencies will be added to the online resource in the future. The resource outlines why and how schools can reduce energy use and costs, and includes case studies, templates for energy audits, planning tools, and contacts for further information.

Online Dl_large Dl_sml

Comments on the resource can be emailed to:

NERI partner organisations undertook in 2007/08 a range of education projects, funding under NERI's contract with the Tertiary Education Commission.

Projects at the University of Waikato:

  • A trial short course module for industry on compressed air system analysis
  • A promotional event on energy engineering for prospective students
  • The University of Waikato is filling two NERI scholarships in support of research on industrial energy efficiency. One scholarship is for research into integration of solar thermal for improved energy efficiency in low-temperature-pinch industrial processes. There is the potential for increased energy efficiency and economic savings through the integration of solar thermal systems into industrial processes. Solar boosting of waste heat could simultaneously reduce the requirement for both hot and cold utility in processing. Integration of solar energy into the heat demand for industrial process also has the added benefit of utilising a renewable energy source with consequent reduction of emissions, provided there is substitution of conventional energy supplies. The other scholarship is for research into air leak characterization. The development of a comprehensive audit methodology for industrial-scale compressed air systems and its application to a variety of dairy factories, pulp and paper and timber mills, and manufacturing sites has established that 20-30% savings in electrical energy are realisable across New Zealand industry, within which about $160 M is spent annually on electricity. Much of the potential energy savings are to be found on the demand (factory) side of the compressor room, particularly in the form of air leaks or inappropriate use of compressed air. Air leaks are routinely found using ultrasound survey, but the theoretical acoustic understanding of how ultrasonic sound level (dB) is related to loss rate is not well established, and this impacts upon determination of the magnitude of air loss and the economic value of regular survey and maintenance programmes in factories and mills.

Projects at Massey University:

  • A new graduate paper on Integrated Energy Resource Planning
  • A new graduate paper on Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Analysis
  • 2007 Postgraduate Student Conference
  • 2008 Postgraduate Student Conference

Projects at Victoria University of Wellington:

  • Symposium and Masterclass on ‘Developments in zero-carbon electricity for New Zealand, and implications for renewables policy and business for New Zealand’.

Projects at the University of Canterbury:

  • A review of the quality, coverage and depth of teaching in energy topics in the College of Engineering
  • Development of a website for people outside the university to ask questions and participate in discussion with the Universitys energy experts
  • Kidsfest 2007 interactive energy activities
  • Lunchtime discussions with local high school girls to raise their awareness about energy careers
  • A public lecture on energy issues CAENZ (New Zealand Centre for Advanced Engineering) will engage one student from the University of Canterbury in employment with CAENZ from 1 December 2008 to 27 Febuary 2009. During the internship, the student will be engaged in three activities: 1. Collating, reviewing and summarising existing work that: a) examines why a central planning approach to investment in electricity infrastructure invariably arrives at a different outcome than the reality of market behaviour (e.g., SOO, system operator reports, MED work etc). The goal of this stage would be to identify gaps, shortfalls and/or inconsistencies in existing work; and b) examines different approaches for integrating centralised planning with markets. 2. Drafting or scoping an industry study based on the literature review outlined in 1 (above). 3. Reporting on the experience of working in energy research, including reflections on functional skill and knowledge development throughout the internship. The research (literature review and draft/scope of study) would be independently undertaken and thus relatively unconstrained. In this way, it would be able to consider future scenarios which are, perhaps, unable to be considered by regulatory and government bodies (e.g., rapidly increasing demand, abandonment of carbon aspirations, economic shocks, etc). Specific areas of focus would be: 1. Capacity, adequacy and economic effects 2. Risk aversion and market entry 3. Generation or transmission lead/lag interactions 4. Optimising generation dispatch – portfolio management 5. Investment risk and pricing in risk 6. Likely public sector/ private sector responses 7. Wholesale market effects of increasing renewable. The intern’s work is part of a wider programme in which it is envisaged that ultimately CAENZ will be in the position to begin to model the next round of development within the sector - and move from current deterministic approaches to optimisation to more flexible approaches. Of particular interest are the ways in which demand projections currently drive the whole investment process yet there is no stochastic treatment or “what if” analysis of these demand-side assumptions. It is the influence (and interdependency) between generation portfolio management and pricing of risk at the individual firm level that ultimately determines the whole market outturn. The residual question is how best to formulate this response and provide a robust analysis framework to inform future policy analysis.

Projects at Lincoln University:

  • Further development of an undergraduate subject titled Energy, Transport and Environment
  • A professional workshop on energy and transport

Projects at the University of Otago:

  • A website that will offer basic practical advice on home energy decisions
  • A seminar for secondary school teachers and students on topical energy issues and education and training opportunities
  • Development of an educational kit to build energy literacy in Year 4-8 pupils
  • A new undergraduate course on Energy Futures

NERI is conducting a review of energy courses offered at universities in New Zealand. This review will be completed by mid-2008.

NERI's Energy Education Essay Competition will run for the first time in 2008. Further information will be posted here shortly.

Projects at the University of Auckland:

  • The University of Auckland has developed two groups of short-courses on geothermal energy through its NERI-funded CTEST (Career Training in Earth/Energy Science and Technology) project. The first group of courses is targeted at students with previous tertiary qualifications (professional) and the second at students with no tertiary qualification or students whose tertiary qualification is not related to geothermal energy (sub-professional). 1. Professional courses: Four five-week courses prepared and delivered during the 2nd half of 2008. • Introduction to geothermal geoscience. • Introduction to geothermal engineering. • Advanced geothermal geoscience. • Advanced geothermal engineering. These short-courses are based on existing graduate level courses and so re-packaging and streamlining rather than complete development is required. 2. Sub-Professional courses: Three one-week courses prepared and delivered during the 2nd half of 2008. • Foundations of geothermal geoscience. • Foundations of geothermal engineering. • Foundations of geothermal geophysics. These field based short-courses are totally new and require complete development. The courses are being developed in collaboration with Bay of Plenty iwi, and will be delivered in their rohe.

Projects at CRL Energy Ltd:

  • CRL Energy Ltd is offering an internship, which will engage one student from the Chemical and Process Engineering Department at the University of Canterbury in employment with CRL during the period 1 December 2008 to 28 February 2009. During the internship, the student will be engaged in a project aiming to understand the pelletisation behaviour of coal & biomass mixtures and their behaviour in a gasifier. This project is part of a wider effort aimed at understanding the behaviour and ultimate conversion of existing coal based furnaces and gasifiers to renewable fuels. The specific activities the student will be engaged in are: • Preparation at CRL Energy Ltd of biomass & coal pellets suitable for feeding to a gasifier; • Testing the selected blend in CRL’s gasifier; • Writing a report on the tests set out above; • Writing a report on the experience of working in energy research, including reflections on functional skill and knowledge development throughout the internship.