CEES Projects

CEES actively collaborates—nationally and internationally—with other institutions of higher learning and scientific research, industry, governments, communities and NGOs to create and execute innovative, interdisciplinary sustainable energy projects—at state, national and international levels. These projects are designed to analyze and improve the impact of laws and policies on the scientific, engineering, sociopolitical, and commercial dimensions of a sustainable energy future. For information on specific projects, please send an email to cees@colorado.edu. Additional information is also available in the CEES Profile

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International Project on Energy Commitments and Compliance >>Top
With support from the Argosy Foundation, the International Project on Energy Commitments and Compliance (IPECC) is designed to improve and enhance the efforts of governments, non-governmental actors—such as corporations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), trade unions, churches—and key decision-makers throughout the world in two ways: First by evaluating the extent to which their existing commitments and pledges are actually working; and second, by facilitating new and better clean and affordable energy solutions.

Increasingly, governments, corporations, and other non-governmental actors are recognizing the need to develop and deploy policies and technologies that can provide clean and affordable energy while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. At present there are hundreds of international treaties that seek to advance sustainable energy technologies and policies. In addition to international treaties, recent years have given rise to dozens of partnership agreements involving countries and private sector entities, scores of pledges found in political resolutions, and numerous other non-binding instruments. These instruments express commitments, of varying degrees and in different ways, supporting the development of sustainable energy technologies. Furthermore, there are numerous other commitments made by private corporations that also seek to advance sustainable energy policies and technologies. While the extent and form of such commitments and pledges has received some attention, an increasingly important, though unanswered question, relates to how effectively they have been implemented, and the degree to which they actually achieve progress toward sustainable energy goals.

IPECC will provide the information needed to improve the effectiveness of existing commitments and encourage new commitments where necessary. It is designed to track and monitor the implementation of sustainable energy commitments undertaken by governments, corporations and other entities, and to provide detailed information on the extent to which they are being complied with. In doing so it will serve as a watchdog over what is and should be happening with respect to these instruments and the commitments they embody.

Through the use of an innovative collaborative online monitoring system, the IPECC will create a global network of expert participants dedicated to monitoring and improving actions taken pursuant to international energy commitments. Project information, analysis and recommendations will also be made freely available through a public website and disseminated through annual reports. Visit the IPECC web page.

International Sustainable Energy Assessment (ISEA) >>Top
With financial support from the Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) and the United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), CEES has launched the ISEA project. ISEA is a research project designed to identify and analyze the impact of international agreements on (a) renewable energy technologies and markets; (b) markets, technologies and practices relevant to energy efficiency and conservation; and (c) conventional sources of energy, such as fossil fuels and nuclear power. ISEA will create an online, searchable and freely accessible database of bilateral and multilateral international energy agreements currently in force. In addition to the full text of each agreement, the unique character of the ISEA database will lie in its analysis of the implementation and impact of these agreements. In so doing, ISEA will provide decision-makers, academics, industry personnel, researchers and students with an invaluable tool for understanding the current and potential impact of international agreements on the attainment of a sustainable energy future. The “analytical hubs” for ISEA encompass the following geographic and organizational areas: (1) United States ; (2) International Energy Agency; (3) European Union; (4) China; and (5) India. To learn more about ISEA, visit the ISEA Database or view the full ISEA Profile

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International Energy Law & Renewable Energy Markets, in Collaboration with the Renewable Energy and International Law Project (REIL) >>Top
As a partner of REIL, CEES is developing a report of the actual and potential impact of international energy law—as embodied in binding international agreements and such soft law instruments as declarations, resolutions, guidelines, action plans, agendas and so forth—on the development of renewable energy markets. In concert with similar contributions from the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy and Baker and McKenzie’s Global Clean Energy and Climate Change Practice Group, EESI’s contribution will assist REIL in developing a comprehensive account of the extent to which international law can and should be used as a tool for expanding the use of renewable energy. Read the preliminary CEES report

by Senior Research Fellow Kevin Doran and Professor Lakshman Guruswamy (forthcoming 2007, Yale University).

Sustainable Energy in West Bengal, India >>Top
Over 1.5 billion people worldwide are trapped in poverty and doomed to live without access to electricity. Centralized hydrocarbon generated, and grid transmitted electricity solutions remain flawed for a variety of reasons. First, hydrocarbons aggravate global warming. Second, the cost of building power stations and complicated grids in developing countries is prohibitive. Finally, the rural poor are not empowered to use technology at a level consistent with their own stage of development. Experience suggests that creating viable decentralized renewable energy options may be a preferred path to sustainable development and access to energy for such disadvantaged communities.

The goal of the project is to develop a replicable model for building innovative renewable energy ventures to support the needs of poor rural communities in developing economies. CEES will harness and focus the expertise of CU Boulder faculty innovators in engineering, entrepreneurship and law to create to enable the creation of sustainable entrepreneurial ventures that have transformative social impacts in the communities they serve. Specifically, CEES will implement a pilot project to be conducted in collaboration with major academic, industry and government partners in West Bengal, India. This collaborative effort will yield an adaptable template for creating entrepreneurial renewable energy ventures in other parts of the developing world.

Our action plan is to use a market-informed process to develop distributed energy technologies (specifically windmills, photovoltaic cells, biomass, mini-hydro and various storage options). This approach will provide an understanding of the needs in the area of scalable fabrication, operation and maintenance; sustainable end user and channel economics and engagement of relevant human resources. Finally, CEES experts on regulatory processes will provide supporting assessments of the regulatory and institutional environment as well as relevant standards, codes and certification procedures. Please see figure below for details.

Sustainable Energy & Sri Lanka >>Top
This is an CEES project undertaken in collaboration with the RAND Corporation, the United Nations Development Organization (UNIDO), the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Western Resource Advocates, and other international agencies (to be determined). The purpose of this project is to assist Sri Lanka in the creation of a strategic sustainable energy plan containing practicable measures to reduce Sri Lanka 's reliance on foreign oil and gas. View the draft Sri Lanka Project Profile

100kb. For information on Sri Lanka's wind energy resources, see the NREL Wind Energy Resource Atlas of Sri Lanka and the Maldives, 2003

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President's Climate Action Plan >>Top
With support from the Wirth Chair at the University of Colorado in Denver, CEES has created a comprehensive database and report of U.S. policy proposals dealing with—or highly relevant to—climate change. This project is part of the President's Climate Action Plan, a national initiative to develop a bold and decisive climate action plan for the next President of the United States. CEES's research has gathered the most promising proposals for new policies, programs, legislation, regulations, incentives and agency authorities related to climate change. This information will be compiled into a President’s Climate Action Plan (CAP). The CAP will provide the President with options for action in his or her first 100 days in office, first 1,000 days, and first Congressional budget package. Visit the CEES Climate Action Database, or learn more about the President's Climate Action Plan.

Executive Authority and Climate Change >>Top
With support from the Wirth Chair at the University of Colorado in Denver, CEES researchers are identifying areas where the President’s authority to issue executive orders (EOs) and Executive Agreements (EAs)is clearly present and clearly absent and gradations between; and where this authority, or lack thereof, has been established in court decisions. For example, in the field of foreign affairs or in the President’s role as commander in chief, pursuant to cases regarding EOs in these areas, the authority is clearly present. On the other hand, authority is questionable when proclamations are issued that are incompatible with express or implied Congressional intent.

Most EOs fall within what is referred to as the “twilight zone” where the authority to issue an EO is neither clearly present or clearly absent. However, if an EO within this “zone” is based on a Congressional delegation of authority, and the delegation is proper, the EO is typically on strong of footing. Therefore, to identify relevant areas in which the incoming President would have strong authority to issue EOs, the project will research environmental and energy statutes for specific delegations of executive authority. In addition, the project will analyze the language of some specific delegations of authority that have been cited as the authorization for prior EOs and have been subject to judicial review. Finally, using the above research in combination with the PCAP database of policy proposals, the project will generate recommended "model" EOs and EAs to address the issue of climate change.

Research on GHG Emissions Markets & Private Firm Activities: Opportunities and Risks for Colorado >>Top
Pursuant to a grant received from the Colorado General Assembly, CEES has prepared a report that analyzes emerging international and domestic markets in greenhouse gas emissions and activities by private firms to reduce such emissions, with particular analytical focus given to the potential economic opportunities and risks for Colorado relative to such markets and activities. To find out more about this project, visit the project web page. The full report is available for download: Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading: Emerging Markets and Opportunities for Colorado

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Colorado Energy Profile >>Top
Quality information is essential to good decision-making. At present, however, there is no regularly produced resource that offers an up-to-date account of Colorado’s current energy profile with future projections and analysis of how that profile may change over time. This omission is particularly relevant when dealing with renewable energy. Pursuant to Colorado House Bill 1203, CEES is working with the Governor's Energy Office to create a Colorado Energy Profile that will provide detailed energy statistics, projections and analysis for Colorado focused on the following areas: renewable energy and fossil fuels; energy efficiency; energy markets; energy infrastructure; environmental statistics; transportation; and projections about energy supply and demand. The Profile will also contain a section devoted to analyzing the role of renewable energy and energy efficiency throughout the State; and making recommendations on how to improve that role. Learn more about HB1203 and the Colorado Energy Profile. The diagram below indicates areas in which quality, timely information about energy in Colorado is lacking. Also, visit the dedicated CEP web page.

Colorado Hydro-Energy Storage Project >>Top
The Colorado Hydro-Energy Storage Project, (Hydro-ESP), takes a unique interdisciplinary approach to project development. A legal team from CEES is working hand-in-hand with an engineering team from the CU-Boulder College of Engineering, the Colorado School of Mines and NREL staff to develop the hydro-energy storage concept. Hydro-energy storage is being explored as a mechanism to mitigate the intermittence of wind and solar energy generation. The role of the legal team is to investigate the challenging or unknown policy and regulatory obstacles that these projects would face and recommend policy or regulatory changes that would be necessary to support the development of these systems.

Our research at CEES is taking two tracks: (1) providing the legal analysis for a study of the feasibility of utility scale projects; and (2) working in conjunction with the design engineers to develop siting criteria for the deployment of a small scale system that will be used for agricultural purposes, primarily to provide power for irrigation, and exploring the regulatory and policy framework for future development of these small scale systems.

The figure below depicts the design of the small scale system described above. The utility scale projects being considered for Colorado typically include at least two reservoirs at different elevations (upper and lower), rather than an underground component.

The intermittent nature of power generation from wind and solar systems will create technical and economic challenges supplying energy when it is needed. Stated plainly without energy storage solar energy is not available when the sun is not shining and wind energy is not available when the wind is not blowing. Energy storage is a key mechanism to mitigating wind and solar generation intermittence. Hydro energy storage uses excess energy from a renewable source to pump water to a higher elevation (from a surface reservoir at a lower elevation to a surface reservoir at a higher elevation or from an underground source to a surface pond or reservoir). The water remains there, stored, until there is an excess of demand over supply of energy from the solar or wind source. At that time the water is allowed to flow down, using the force of gravity, through a turbine to generate power.

Colorado Sustainable Energy Forums >>Top
In collaboration with the Colorado Energy Research Institute, located at the Colorado School of Mines, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, CEES has launched a series of sustainable energy forums. These forums are designed to showcase emerging trends in sustainable energy markets and technologies. The forums utilize a unique and interactive format to enable business leaders, federal and state officials, academics, researchers and the informed public to learn about and discuss ways to make Colorado and the Rocky Mountain West the focal point for emerging trends related to sustainable energy production, transmission, new fuels generation and climate change mitigation. The forums are also designed to provide insight and perspective on how scientific research, engineering innovations, industry practices and creative public policy input can be integrated into sustainable energy pathways that benefit Colorado and the nation.

Interdisciplinary Energy Law Curriculum >>Top
The overarching mission of CEES is to become a law school-based interdisciplinary body that is pivotal in developing and crafting State, U.S. and global responses to the world’s energy crisis. To this end, CEES is working to significantly strengthen and expand Colorado Law’s present curricular offerings in the domain of energy law and policy. CEES is working with the Dean and faculty to identify and recruit permanent and adjunct faculty who will teach and publish in interrelated energy law subjects addressing: fundamentals of U.S. and international energy law and policy; globalization and energy law including investments and transnational energy transactions; and interdisciplinary energy courses. The table below depicts the type of courses CEES is seeking to add to the present curriculum to establish a more comprehensive, interdisciplinary energy law program for Colorado Law.

CEES Sustainable Energy Policy Clinic >>Top
CEES is working to create a Sustainable Energy Policy Clinic at Colorado Law that will provide students with hands-on opportunities for influencing and shaping public policy relating to sustainable energy. The goals of the clinic are to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the complex technological and policy mechanisms involved in creating and maintaining U.S. and international energy economies. It will do so by:

Refining and applying student understanding of the role of law and policy to facilitate the development and commercial deployment of sustainable energy technologies;
Equipping students with such practical legal skills as interviewing, fact-finding, negotiation, drafting, and advocacy as expressed in presentations and testimony before public bodies;
Providing students with first-hand experience in drafting legislative materials and public policy documents for governmental and private sector clients at local, state, national and international levels;
Offering students real-world experience dealing with the complexities involved in creating legislation and public policy;
Imparting to students the knowledge, skills, and experience necessary for securing jobs in the specialized field of energy law and policy; and
Equipping students with the skills needed to produce public policy instruments including memoranda, white papers, draft legislation and draft treaties addressing problems presented to them by governmental and private sector clients at local, state, national and international levels.

Through these activities the clinic will strengthen and supplement Colorado Law’s energy and natural resources curriculum by adding a distinct and significant student contribution to sustainable energy issues.

CEES Symposia and Workshops >>Top
Once every three years CEES will convene a major conference at Colorado Law dealing with sustainable energy law and policy. The first of these conferences—entitled “Sustainable Energy in the Domain of International Treaties”—will take place in the Fall of 2007. During years in which there is no conference being held, CEES will convene a workshop of distinguished experts to address important questions with respect to sustainable energy law and policy. The first of these workshops—entitled “The Need for a New U.S. Energy Policy Act”—will be held in the Fall of 2008. For other upcoming CEES conferences and events, see CEES Events. For information on past CEES events, visit our CEES Archive.

CU Sustainable Energy Forums >>Top
CEES is proud to sponsor the CU Sustainable Energy Forum—a regular series designed to showcase the sustainable energy research and projects of CU faculty, staff and students. For information on past CU Sustainable Energy Forums, visit the following links: CUSEF2; CUSEF3; CUSEF4.