CLASS OF 2015
WORLD-GENERATION FEBRUARY/MARCH 2015 V.27 #1
27
device. It will be constructed over three
years and will be funded through $3 million
from the National Science Foundation and
$1.2 million from Princeton University,
Prager said.
PPPL also began the Center for
Heliospheric Physics, a joint project with
the University’s Department of
Astrophysical Sciences, where researchers
will study the space surrounding the sun.
There, violent space weather can interrupt
cell phone service, damage satellites, and
knock out power grids.
Researchers at the Laboratory have
also pursued numerous collaborations
nationally and internationally, including the
Max-Planck/Princeton Center for Plasma
Physics, a collaboration between Princeton
University and the Max Planck Society of
Germany.
PPPL researchers are also working on
“fledgling” studies of plasma-based nano-
technology, Prager said.
Other technologies being investigated
at PPPL include a plasma mass filter that
could potentially be used to clean up large
amounts of toxic waste. Researchers are
also working on X-Ray imaging techniques
that could have “enormous impact in a huge
array of applications,” Prager said.
PPPL and U.S. Department of
Agriculture researchers are developing a
technique that uses radio frequency waves
to pasteurize eggs. Princeton University and
PPPL researchers are also working on a
method to verify whether nuclear warheads
being decommissioned contain nuclear war-
heads.
“All of this diversity of activities does
not add up to a huge pile of money,” Prager
said. “However, they lead to huge scientific
creative activity at the Laboratory, so in that
way they’re incredible.”
Prager noted that while NSTX-U has
been under construction for the past three
years, PPPL researchers have been busy
analyzing previous data from the experi-
ment and collaborating with laboratories
around the world.
STEWART PRAGER
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 20
WORLD-GEN: WHAT EQUIPMENT IS INCLUDED
AND WHAT GUARANTEES ARE PROVIDED?
STEPHANE DUFRENNE:
Systems
installed through the Energy Freedom Loan
use Upsolar’s PV modules and racking, and
either string inverters from Solectria, or
micro-inverters from APS. These high-quali-
ty components, installed by pre-qualified
professionals, safeguard homeowners’
investments from day one, ensuring peak
performance and maximum electricity bill
savings. Additionally, Upsolar products fea-
ture a 10-year workmanship warranty and a
25-year performance guarantee, as well as
third-party Insurance protection from AIG.
WORLD-GEN: ARE THERE PLANSTO EXPAND
FROM RESIDENTIAL TO COMMERCIAL MARKETS?
STEPHANE DUFRENNE:
Projects in
this space require much more tailored
financing based on variables like site pro-
files and customers’ electricity needs. We
can offer financing on a case by case basis.
However, we feel the residential market is
ripe with opportunity and will maintain our
focus in this sector for the time being.
WORLD-GEN: WHAT ARE UPSOLAR’S US
GOALS AND WILL ENERGY STORAGE
OPTIONS BE OFFERED INTHE FUTURE?
STEPHANE DUFRENNE:
The early
response we’ve seen in the California and
Arizona markets has been extremely posi-
tive. We intend to expand our residential
offering to additional states in the future. We
will certainly consider complementary tech-
nologies like energy storage options as part
of our offering down the line.
In the shorter term, we plan to focus on
program enhancements like design servic-
es, which will enable installers to focus on
their primary tasks—selling and installing
systems—rather than worrying about pro-
curement or getting credit lines with local
distributors.
STEPHANE DUFRENNE
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 16
strengths in agriculture and biotechnology.
A growing bioeconomy would increase our
energy security, improve the nation’s bal-
ance of trade, improve the nation’s environ-
mental health, and generate high-quality
jobs particularly in rural areas. The organi-
zation works closely with companies to
ensure that they have the tools, the
resources and the relationships to grow
and succeed.
Over the past few years, industrial bio-
technology companies have made great
strides, Greenwood points out. Cellulosic
and advanced biofuel companies are at a
pivotal point in commercial development,
with thousands of workers putting steel in
the ground and plants coming online
across the nation and around the globe.
Renewable chemical and biopolymer com-
panies are commercializing new processes
and generating products at competitive
prices. New technologies for food ingredi-
ents, cosmetics, pharmaceutical intermedi-
ates, fragrances and flavorings are emerg-
ing. The renewable chemicals market is
projected to reach nearly $84 billion in
value in the next five years, with an annual
growth rate of 7.7 percent.
“The biotech industry never has and
never will be for the risk averse or those
unwilling to look over the horizon and to
put in the hard work,” Greenwood says.
“The amazing innovations of today that are
better for our planet – such as fuels that
can transform the dynamics of global poli-
tics – evolved from decades of scientific
research. But biotech companies do what
they do – they push the envelope of sci-
ence and technology – despite the risks
and the long odds, to be able to bring new
and better things into the world.”
Jim Greenwood represented
Pennsylvania’s Eighth District in the U.S.
House of Representatives for six terms,
from January 1993 through January 2005.
A senior member of the Energy and
Commerce Committee, he was widely
viewed as a leader on health care and the
environment.
JIM GREENWOOD
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19
