Opportunities for Florida from Florida Solar Energy Center on Vimeo.
Energy News
UCF Receives $482,000 to Expand ‘Green’ Jobs Training Program
COCOA, June 18, 2010 – More local workers can receive ‘green’ job training thanks to a $482,000 federal grant to the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) at the University of Central Florida.
The grant, given under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will expand FSEC’s weatherization training program, which provides inspectors, contractors and other skilled workers training courses in energy efficiency retrofitting and weatherization services, such as house air sealing and air duct diagnoses and repair.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) selected 34 projects in 27 states to develop or expand weatherization training centers. FSEC is one of three training centers in Florida selected to receive part of the $29 million in funding.
FSEC Scientist Earns Honorary Hydrogen Title
Nazim Muradov, a principal research scientist at UCF’s Florida Solar Energy Center, was awarded the honorary title of International Association for Hydrogen Energy Fellow at the organization’s 18th biennial World Hydrogen Energy Conference.
More than 1,000 scientists and decision-makers in politics, finance and research gathered last month in Essen, Germany, for presentations on cutting-edge research on hydrogen and fuel cell technologies.
Muradov has been involved in hydrogen energy research for the past 30 years. He spearheaded U.S. Department of Energy-funded research efforts on the development, patenting and licensing of a novel process for producing hydrogen. Under a NASA contract, he led a research and development program on the local production of hydrogen from renewable resources such as landfill gas and citrus waste.
Muradov is the author and co-author of 200 publications and 34 patents, and three of his technologies have been licensed to industry. He recently received a patent for a new approach to cleaning up oil spills using carbon materials that can soak the oil up like a sponge. He is planning to collaborate with an industrial partner to determine the commercial potential of the technology.
Muradov’s areas of focus include hydrogen production, fuel reformers for fuel cells, catalytic solar energy conversion, hydrogen sensors, carbon nanostructures, fossil fuel decarbonization and hydrocarbon processing.
He is an associate editor of the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy and a member of the international editorial council of the Processes of Petrochemistry and Oil Refining. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the International Association for Hydrogen Energy and the Board of Trustees and Scientific Council of the Madrid Institute of Advanced Studies (IMDEA Energia), Spain. He received a University of Central Florida Research Incentive Award in 2003, and he earned UCF’s Distinguished Researcher of the Year Award for institutes and centers in 1996.
Students Shine in Solar and Hydrogen Competitions
COCOA, May 4, 2010 – Florida students have creative ideas for solving some of the world’s greatest energy challenges, and their solutions were demonstrated Saturday at the eighth-annual EnergyWhiz Olympics.
More than 500 students throughout Florida converged May 1 at the University of Central Florida’s Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) in
Cocoa to compete in the day-long competition that showcased student projects in alternative fuel technologies.
Events included the Bright House Solar Energy Cookoff, a solar cooker design and cooking contest; the Junior Solar Sprint, model-size solar car races; the High School Hydrogen Sprint, model-size hydrogen-powered car races; and Energy Innovations, a full-scale solar electric design challenge.
Emergency Shelter Schools Selected for $10M Solar Energy Program
COCOA, Apr. 27, 2010 – Ninety public schools in Florida have been competitively selected to participate in the SunSmart Schools E-Shelter (Emergency Shelter) program, administered by the University of Central Florida’s Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC). Each school will receive a solar electric system with battery backup – complete with installation, educational resources and materials, training for school personnel, and professional development for teachers.
The 10-kilowatt solar electric system will provide power to the shelter during outages for critical energy needs such as lighting, communications and essential medical equipment. During normal operations, it will offset electricity costs to the school and reduce greenhouse gases. Funding for the $10 million state program came from federal economic stimulus funds.
The 90 finalist schools (listed below) were selected from the 213 applications submitted, representing 45 of the 67 counties in Florida.