Energy grant is possible for YSU

By Harold Gwin

A wind energy system could involve the erection of two windmills on the YSU campus.

YOUNGSTOWN — Youngstown State University would get a $2 million grant to create a Center for Renewable Energy Systems under a federal Energy and Water Appropriations Bill approved by the House Appropriations Subcommittee.

U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, a member of the subcommittee, said the YSU center would be an interdisciplinary industry-university center.

The center will translate YSU’s energy research efforts into practical application for industrial needs, according to Ryan.

“This is a good opportunity for us,” said Dr. Martin A. Abraham, dean of YSU’s College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

The project is being put together through the STEM college across a number of departments involving faculty doing various types of energy analysis, he said.

There are three aspects of focus for the center, Abraham said.

The first is an analysis of a wind energy system that will involve the erection of two windmills on the YSU campus, he said.

One will use a new technology design for the blades while the other will use a traditional blade technology.

The goal is to determine if the new blade technology performs better in terms of energy production, Abraham said, noting that the university is partnering on the project with a company that is producing the newer blades.

The second area of focus will be a fuel cell powered system which will require the construction of a demonstration unit on campus to analyze the energy put into the cell versus the delivered energy put out by that cell.

YSU will be looking at a solid oxide fuel cell system powered by ethanol, a biofuel, Abraham said.

Fuel cells of this type can be used to produce electricity instead of using a traditional generator for that purpose, he said.

Finally, the center will be required to build the capacity to do the above-mentioned energy analyses “in house,” Abraham said.

The “computational tools” that the university will develop can be applied to any system that uses energy to help find where energy is lost and to improve efficiency, he said.

Abraham said he was thrilled to learn that the funding has made it out of committee. If it stays part of the final version of the bill, YSU could get its funding in about a year, he said.

gwin@vindy.com