Prof. Hernandez and multi-sector UC Wild Solar Team win $2M grant!
As part of a historic partnership between the University of California and the state of California, UC today announced it is awarding over $80 million in climate action grants. The grants will spur implementation of solutions that directly address state climate priorities.
Prof. Hernandez, Director or the Wild Energy Center, and the multi-sector UC Wild Solar Team received $2,000,000 for the project, “Aligning Goals for Solar Energy, Biodiversity Conservation, and Environmental Justice in California”.
The UC Wild Solar Team includes expertise, partnership, and resources from the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), the global non-profit leader in research, development, and demonstration of sustainable PV projects partnering with industry; the United States Geological Survey (USGS) with expertise in data synthesis and regulatory aspects of California PV and wildlife interactions; the Energy Technology and Policy Assessment (ETAPA) Group at McGill University, global leader in spatially-explicit techno-economic assessments of energy development options; and, Energy Lancaster, home of the leading European programmes on energy-environment interactions, including the world’s first decision-support tool (Solar Park Impacts on Ecosystem Services [SPIES]) that identifies impacts of different solar park management practices on ecosystem services.
End-users partners were active contributors on the proposal and include the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD), California’s premiere utility leader in sustainability practices on energy-based land assets with expertise in adoption and scaling; The Nature Conservancy (TNC) that developed some of the U.S.’s first guidelines regarding low-impact PV siting and design; implementation, testing, and monitoring of best management practices at solar facilities with expertise in the standardization of siting and design guidance; TNC will play a critical role in the dissemination of research and linking science to policy; Ciel & Terre, global leader in floating PV, will will help ensure FPV experiments are useful to industry stakeholders and provide industry insights. BaWa R.E.’s Brandon Reinhardt and Emeren’s Jamie Nagel are working with Prof. Hernandez to consider PV projects currently in the approval pipeline for the Wild Solar research site network and understand drivers of delay.
“As the state’s preeminent research institution, the University of California is proud to partner with the state to pursue our shared climate goals,” said UC President Michael V. Drake, M.D. “The innovations catalyzed by the Climate Action awards will make all of our communities safer, more sustainable, and more resilient. I am grateful to the state Legislature and Gov. Newsom for providing funding to support this critical research on climate change in California.”
The Seed and Matching Grant projects will mitigate wildfire risks, combat soil degradation and erosion, address water management in the state, and create land stewardship partnerships led by Indigenous communities. The selected projects aim to improve the health of farmworkers; increase resilience of state water and power systems; and identify innovative nature-based solutions toward biodiversity degradation, sea level rise, and wildfire risk.
Other projects align with the state’s solar and conservation goals and adapt community evacuation preparations to accommodate the rising prevalence of electric vehicles. These two-year grants cover every region of the state.
“With these investments, California is harnessing the ingenuity of our world-renowned universities and people to deliver climate action across our state. California is leading the charge in tapping our natural resources to protect our people, our communities, and our planet.”