UC Davis to Receive $2.5 Million for West Village Project

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, January 21, 2010

CONTACTS:
Mara Lee (Matsui) 202.225.7163
Laurel Brown (Thompson) 202.225.3311

Today, Representatives Doris Matsui (CA-05) and Mike Thompson (CA-01) announced that the University of California, Davis has received a federal grant of $2.5 million through the Department of Energy (DOE) for their on-going West Village Project, a mixed housing and commercial development now under construction. The funding was made possible by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which was supported by Reps. Matsui and Thompson last year. The Congressional Representatives also co-authored a letter to Secretary Chu supporting UC Davis application for the grant, citing the project's capacity to provide sustainable, affordable on-campus housing for thousands of students, staff and faculty.

The UC Davis West Village Smart Grid Demonstration Project will provide a wealth of data on the performance of energy saving strategies and technologies in the field, and help bring energy conservation practices and technologies into our daily lives, said Rep. Matsui. I applaud UC Davis leadership in advancing our region's commitment to sustainability and clean energy solutions, and believe that the West Village project is an important component of making Sacramento a clean-tech capitol.

"Renewable energy is the way of the future," said Congressman Thompson. "I'm proud to see that once again UC Davis is leading the way in finding new and innovative ways to power our homes and create sustainable communities."

UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi said both UC Davis West Village and other communities will benefit from the Department of Energy's support for the innovative waste-to-energy project. The West Village project will immediately reduce our campus's environmental impact while showing us the best way to build similar projects in other places. Every day, UC Davis is advancing our commitment to sustainability and clean energy solutions.

The UC Davis West Village project is a 205-acre Zero Net Energy (ZNE) community based on the Davis campus. The planned community's design features a variety of sustainability innovations and promises to serve as a blueprint for future energy-wise developments nationwide. The emphasis on walking, bicycling and public transportation will reduce emissions commonly associated with new housing projects.

The West Village Smart Grid Demonstration Project will rely on on-site renewable energy generation from a number of renewable sources to meet 100% of the energy demand on an annual basis. On-site renewable energy generation will help safeguard the project from the conventional interruptions and shortfalls commonly characterized by imported energy. Security measures designed to protect the grid from cyber-related threats will be a key feature of the demonstration project.

The infusion of federal funding will specifically help UC Davis create a Waste-to-Renewable Energy (WTRE) system, which would generate power from a renewable biogas fed fuel cell running on organic waste. The WTRE system will be constructed within a Community Energy Park where it will be combined with other energy-saving technologies to augment and amplify its effectiveness. Moreover, the generation of renewable energy on site will provide increased power reliability and quality at a competitive cost. As a result, it will drastically reduce both peak demand on the grid and greenhouse gas emissions.

The funds announced today for UC Davis are part of a larger, $20.5 million release by the Department of Energy in Recovery grants, funding five projects across the nation. The selected projects will be leveraged with approximately $167 million in local government and private industry funding. DOE estimates that these projects will provide enough clean, renewable energy to displace the use fossil fuels to power approximately 10,700 homes.