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J.M. Pearce
Department of Material Science & Engineering and Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI, USA

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Short Biography

Visiting Professor of Photovoltaics and Nanoengineering, School of Electrical Engineering, Aalto University, Finland and Richard Witte Professor of Materials Science & Engineering and Professor Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Michigan Technological University, MI, USA

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Journal article
Published: 22 July 2021 in Cleaner and Responsible Consumption
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Agrivoltaic systems, which deliberately maximize the utility of a single parcel of land for both solar photovoltaic (PV) electricity production and agriculture, have been demonstrated as a viable technology that can ameliorate competing land uses and meet growing energy and food demands efficiently. The goal of this study is to assess the environmental impacts of a novel pasture-based agrivoltaic concept: co-farming rabbits and solar PV. A life cycle assessment (LCA) quantified the impacts of 1) the integrated agrivoltaic concept in comparison to conventional practices including 2) separate rabbit farming and PV production and 3) separate rabbit farming and conventional electricity production. The impact assessment methods employed to determine the environmental impacts were IPCC 2013 global warming potential 100a V1.03 and fossil energy demand V1.11. The results indicate that the pasture-based agrivoltaic system produces the least amount of greenhouse gas emissions (3.8 million kg CO₂ equivalent) and demands the least amount of fossil energy (46 million MJ) per functional unit of cumulative MWh output of electricity and cumulative kg of meat over 30 years in comparison to the two other scenarios under study. The pasture-based agrivoltaic system features a dual synergy that consequently produces 69.3 ​% less emissions and demands 82.9 ​% less fossil energy compared to non-integrated production. The potential for agrivoltaic systems to significantly reduce environmental impacts revealed by this LCA demonstrates that integrated solar and pasture-based agricultural systems are superior to conventional practices in terms of their comparatively lower emission and energy intensity. These findings provide empirical support for increased agrivoltaic system development more broadly.

ACS Style

Alexis S. Pascaris; Rob Handler; Chelsea Schelly; Joshua M. Pearce. Life cycle assessment of pasture-based agrivoltaic systems: Emissions and energy use of integrated rabbit production. Cleaner and Responsible Consumption 2021, 3, 100030 .

AMA Style

Alexis S. Pascaris, Rob Handler, Chelsea Schelly, Joshua M. Pearce. Life cycle assessment of pasture-based agrivoltaic systems: Emissions and energy use of integrated rabbit production. Cleaner and Responsible Consumption. 2021; 3 ():100030.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Alexis S. Pascaris; Rob Handler; Chelsea Schelly; Joshua M. Pearce. 2021. "Life cycle assessment of pasture-based agrivoltaic systems: Emissions and energy use of integrated rabbit production." Cleaner and Responsible Consumption 3, no. : 100030.

Journal article
Published: 17 July 2021 in Energy and Buildings
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Given the need for decarbonization of the heating sector and the acute need of a propane replacement in the U.S. Upper Midwest, this study quantifies the techno-economic characteristics of sustainable heating electrification in isolated rural, residential buildings in cold climates without natural gas supply. Archetypal buildings are modeled under four levels of electrification. At each electrification level, a parametric solar photovoltaic (PV) sizing analysis is performed and the total life cycle cost, renewable fraction and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are calculated based on the primary energy supply for each building type. Cost optimal solutions are stress-tested with multi-dimensional sensitivity analyses. The results show that the total life cycle cost favors heating electrification in all cases and combining PV with heat pumps can reduce residential building GHG emissions by up to 50% immediately. This effect will grow over time, with over 90% reduction of building emissions if renewable energy targets are met. In using primary energy and emissions along with the multi-dimensional sensitivities, this study unique demonstrates the complex techno-economic interactions of PV and heat pumps. It is concluded that electrification is an economically viable decarbonization method for cold climates both now and in the future.

ACS Style

Filippo Padovani; Nelson Sommerfeldt; Francesca Longobardi; Joshua M. Pearce. Decarbonizing rural residential buildings in cold climates: A techno-economic analysis of heating electrification. Energy and Buildings 2021, 250, 111284 .

AMA Style

Filippo Padovani, Nelson Sommerfeldt, Francesca Longobardi, Joshua M. Pearce. Decarbonizing rural residential buildings in cold climates: A techno-economic analysis of heating electrification. Energy and Buildings. 2021; 250 ():111284.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Filippo Padovani; Nelson Sommerfeldt; Francesca Longobardi; Joshua M. Pearce. 2021. "Decarbonizing rural residential buildings in cold climates: A techno-economic analysis of heating electrification." Energy and Buildings 250, no. : 111284.

Research article
Published: 08 July 2021 in Advanced Engineering Materials
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Great advances have been made in various 3-D printing methods for ceramics. [1,2] Fabrication of Si-based ceramics using polymer derived ceramics (PDC) is gaining popularity. [3,4] Using this route, preceramic polymers can be shaped in the polymer state and then pyrolyzed to produce different type of ceramics. [5,6] Cellular ceramics can be manufactured using this technique. [7] This study reports on the novel fabrication of cellular ceramics with a two-step process using PDCs. First cellular structures are 3-D printed with fused filament fabrication (FFF) using thermoplastic polyurethane and impregnated with preceramic polymer polysilazane. Second, pyrolysis of the impregnated structure produces a self-similar ceramic cellular structure. This study systemically evaluates the impact of i) catalysts, ii) curing environment and iii) pyrolysis sequence optimization to form cellular ceramics with fully-dense SiOC(N) struts. The resultant custom ceramic components can tolerate operating temperatures of 1500oC and can be manufactured for less than 5% of the cost of competing methods. The ceramic material is shown to be biocompatible and promotes fast cell adhesion. Finally, early-stage cell activation on the SiOC(N) structure is shown to be tunable by adjusting the porosity with this 3-D printing to mimic the bone tissue geometry for bone regeneration.

ACS Style

Apoorv Kulkarni; Joshua Pearce; Yuejiao Yang; Antonella Motta; Gian Domenico Sorarù. SiOC(N) Cellular Structures with Dense Struts by Integrating Fused Filament Fabrication 3D Printing with Polymer‐Derived Ceramics. Advanced Engineering Materials 2021, 1 .

AMA Style

Apoorv Kulkarni, Joshua Pearce, Yuejiao Yang, Antonella Motta, Gian Domenico Sorarù. SiOC(N) Cellular Structures with Dense Struts by Integrating Fused Filament Fabrication 3D Printing with Polymer‐Derived Ceramics. Advanced Engineering Materials. 2021; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Apoorv Kulkarni; Joshua Pearce; Yuejiao Yang; Antonella Motta; Gian Domenico Sorarù. 2021. "SiOC(N) Cellular Structures with Dense Struts by Integrating Fused Filament Fabrication 3D Printing with Polymer‐Derived Ceramics." Advanced Engineering Materials , no. : 1.

Journal article
Published: 20 May 2021 in Journal of Manufacturing and Materials Processing
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Vacuum drying can dehydrate materials further than dry heat methods, while protecting sensitive materials from thermal degradation. Many industries have shifted to vacuum drying as cost- or time-saving measures. Small-scale vacuum drying, however, has been limited by the high costs of specialty scientific tools. To make vacuum drying more accessible, this study provides design and performance information for a small-scale open source vacuum oven, which can be fabricated from off-the-shelf and 3-D printed components. The oven is tested for drying speed and effectiveness on both waste plastic polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and a consortium of bacteria developed for bioprocessing of terephthalate wastes to assist in distributed recycling of PET for both additive manufacturing as well as potential food. Both materials can be damaged when exposed to high temperatures, making vacuum drying a desirable solution. The results showed that the open source vacuum oven was effective at drying both plastic and biomaterials, drying at a higher rate than a hot-air dryer for small samples or for low volumes of water. The system can be constructed for less than 20% of commercial vacuum dryer costs for several laboratory-scale applications, including dehydration of bio-organisms, drying plastic for distributed recycling and additive manufacturing, and chemical processing.

ACS Style

Benjamin Hubbard; Lindsay Putman; Stephen Techtmann; Joshua Pearce. Open Source Vacuum Oven Design for Low-Temperature Drying: Performance Evaluation for Recycled PET and Biomass. Journal of Manufacturing and Materials Processing 2021, 5, 52 .

AMA Style

Benjamin Hubbard, Lindsay Putman, Stephen Techtmann, Joshua Pearce. Open Source Vacuum Oven Design for Low-Temperature Drying: Performance Evaluation for Recycled PET and Biomass. Journal of Manufacturing and Materials Processing. 2021; 5 (2):52.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Benjamin Hubbard; Lindsay Putman; Stephen Techtmann; Joshua Pearce. 2021. "Open Source Vacuum Oven Design for Low-Temperature Drying: Performance Evaluation for Recycled PET and Biomass." Journal of Manufacturing and Materials Processing 5, no. 2: 52.

Design innovation paper
Published: 07 May 2021 in Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering
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To overcome the challenge of upcycling plastic waste into three-dimensional (3D) printing filament in the distributed recycling and additive manufacturing systems, this study designs, builds, tests, and validates an open-source filament diameter sensor for recycling and winding machines. The modular system for multi-axis optical control of the diameter of the recycled 3D-printer filament makes it possible to scan part of the surface of the processed filament, save the history of measurements along the entire length of the spool, as well as mark defective areas. The sensor is developed as an independent module and integrated into a recyclebot. It was tested on different kinds of polymers (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polylactide (PLA)), different sources of plastic, and different colors including clear plastic. The results were compared with the manual measurements, and the measurements obtained with a one-dimensional digital light caliper. The results found that the developed open-source filament sensing method allows users to obtain significantly more information in comparison with basic one-dimensional light sensors and using the received data not only for more accurate diameter measurements but also for a detailed analysis of the recycled filament surface. This could help to expand the use of plastic recycling technologies in the manufacturing community. The availability of tools for possible texture analysis could also stimulate the growth of composite materials creation. The presented system can greatly enhance the user possibilities and serve as a starting point for a complete recycling control system that will regulate motor parameters to achieve the desired filament diameter with acceptable deviations and even control the extrusion rate on a printer to recover from filament irregularities.

ACS Style

Aliaksei Petsiuk; Joshua M. Pearce. Open Source Filament Diameter Sensor for Recycling, Winding, and Additive Manufacturing Machines. Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering 2021, 143, 1 -25.

AMA Style

Aliaksei Petsiuk, Joshua M. Pearce. Open Source Filament Diameter Sensor for Recycling, Winding, and Additive Manufacturing Machines. Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering. 2021; 143 (10):1-25.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Aliaksei Petsiuk; Joshua M. Pearce. 2021. "Open Source Filament Diameter Sensor for Recycling, Winding, and Additive Manufacturing Machines." Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering 143, no. 10: 1-25.

Research article
Published: 06 May 2021 in Engineering Reports
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To examine the potential of distributed microgrids using sustainable energy sources centered on retail store parking lots, this study provides a methodology to simulate medium‐scale solar photovoltaic (PV) + combined heat and power (CHP) + battery hybrid microgrid systems deployed at big box retail stores. First, a method is provided to agglomerate 15‐min load data for a community of residences in the region of the store to provide baseline electricity load profiles. The systems are then modeled using dispatch strategies previously shown to be stable for smaller, but more dynamic loaded systems. The methodology is demonstrated with a case study for a Walmart Supercenter located in Nova Scotia, Canada. The electricity generated by each component of the hybrid system is coupled and optimized to fulfill the electric demands of the local community. The results provide the total electricity generated by the PV + CHP + battery hybrid system, total operating hours by each unit, fuel consumed, and hourly energy produced by each unit. The results show that such microgrid systems could serve the electrical needs of ˜1000 people (350 residences) for each parking lot of 3.5 MW PV system and CHP unit of 1 MW. The technical viability of this approach warrants future work.

ACS Style

Kunal K. Shah; Dane George; Lukas Swan; Joshua M. Pearce. Performance and analysis of retail store‐centered microgrids with solar photovoltaic parking lot, cogeneration, and battery‐based hybrid systems. Engineering Reports 2021, e12418 .

AMA Style

Kunal K. Shah, Dane George, Lukas Swan, Joshua M. Pearce. Performance and analysis of retail store‐centered microgrids with solar photovoltaic parking lot, cogeneration, and battery‐based hybrid systems. Engineering Reports. 2021; ():e12418.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Kunal K. Shah; Dane George; Lukas Swan; Joshua M. Pearce. 2021. "Performance and analysis of retail store‐centered microgrids with solar photovoltaic parking lot, cogeneration, and battery‐based hybrid systems." Engineering Reports , no. : e12418.

Journal article
Published: 30 April 2021 in Sustainability
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To safeguard against meat supply shortages during pandemics or other catastrophes, this study analyzed the potential to provide the average household’s entire protein consumption using either soybean production or distributed meat production at the household level in the U.S. with: (1) pasture-fed rabbits, (2) pellet and hay-fed rabbits, or (3) pellet-fed chickens. Only using the average backyard resources, soybean cultivation can provide 80–160% of household protein and 0–50% of a household’s protein needs can be provided by pasture-fed rabbits using only the yard grass as feed. If external supplementation of feed is available, raising 52 chickens while also harvesting the concomitant eggs or alternately 107 grain-fed rabbits can meet 100% of an average household’s protein requirements. These results show that resilience to future pandemics and challenges associated with growing meat demands can be incrementally addressed through backyard distributed protein production. Backyard production of chicken meat, eggs, and rabbit meat reduces the environmental costs of protein due to savings in production, transportation, and refrigeration of meat products and even more so with soybeans. Generally, distributed production of protein was found to be economically competitive with centralized production of meat if distributed labor costs were ignored.

ACS Style

Theresa Meyer; Alexis Pascaris; David Denkenberger; Joshua Pearce. U.S. Potential of Sustainable Backyard Distributed Animal and Plant Protein Production during and after Pandemics. Sustainability 2021, 13, 5067 .

AMA Style

Theresa Meyer, Alexis Pascaris, David Denkenberger, Joshua Pearce. U.S. Potential of Sustainable Backyard Distributed Animal and Plant Protein Production during and after Pandemics. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (9):5067.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Theresa Meyer; Alexis Pascaris; David Denkenberger; Joshua Pearce. 2021. "U.S. Potential of Sustainable Backyard Distributed Animal and Plant Protein Production during and after Pandemics." Sustainability 13, no. 9: 5067.

Preprint
Published: 28 April 2021
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To safeguard against meat supply shortages during pandemics or other catastrophes, this study analyzed the potential to provide the average household’s entire protein consumption using either soybean production or distributed meat production at the household level in the U.S. with: 1) pasture-fed rabbits, 2) pellet and hay-fed rabbits, or 3) pellet-fed chickens. Only using the average backyard resources, soybean cultivation can provide 80%-160% of household protein and 0%-50% of a household’s protein needs can be provided by pasture-fed rabbits using only the yard grass as feed. If external supplementation of feed is available, raising 52 chickens while also harvesting the concomitant eggs or alternately 107 grain-fed rabbits can meet 100% of an average household’s protein requirements. These results show that resilience to future pandemics and challenges associated with growing meat demands can be incrementally addressed through backyard distributed protein production. Backyard production of chicken meat, eggs, and rabbit meat reduces environmental costs of protein due to savings in production, transportation, and refrigeration of meat products and even more so with soybeans. Generally, distributed production of protein was found to be economically competitive with centralized production of meat if distributed labor costs were ignored.

ACS Style

Theresa K. Meyer; Alexis Pascaris; David Denkenberger; Joshua M. Pearce. U.S. Potential of Sustainable Backyard Distributed Animal and Plant Protein Production During & After Pandemics. 2021, 1 .

AMA Style

Theresa K. Meyer, Alexis Pascaris, David Denkenberger, Joshua M. Pearce. U.S. Potential of Sustainable Backyard Distributed Animal and Plant Protein Production During & After Pandemics. . 2021; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Theresa K. Meyer; Alexis Pascaris; David Denkenberger; Joshua M. Pearce. 2021. "U.S. Potential of Sustainable Backyard Distributed Animal and Plant Protein Production During & After Pandemics." , no. : 1.

Journal article
Published: 07 April 2021 in Technologies
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Historically, open source agriculture (OSA) was based on grassroots technology generally manufactured by hand tools or with manual machining. The rise of distributed digital manufacturing provides an opportunity for much more rapid lateral scaling of open source appropriate technologies for agriculture. However, the most mature distributed manufacturing area is plastic, which has limited use for many OSA applications. To overcome this limitation with design, this study reports on of a completely 3D-printable planetary roller screw linear actuator. The device is designed as a parametric script-based computer aided design (CAD) package to allow for the easy adaption for a number of applications such as food processing at different scales. The planetary roller screw is fabricated in dishwasher-safe polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG) on an open source machine and tested using an open source testing platform to determine if it could maintain a constant load without slipping and the maximum force. Then, this output is compared to a direct screw press using the same materials. The results found that the maximum force is more than doubled for the roller screw actuator using the same materials, making them adequate for some food processing techniques. Future work is outlined to improve the performance and ease of assembly.

ACS Style

Marcello Guadagno; Jacob Loss; Joshua Pearce. Open Source 3D-Printable Planetary Roller Screw for Food Processing Applications. Technologies 2021, 9, 24 .

AMA Style

Marcello Guadagno, Jacob Loss, Joshua Pearce. Open Source 3D-Printable Planetary Roller Screw for Food Processing Applications. Technologies. 2021; 9 (2):24.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Marcello Guadagno; Jacob Loss; Joshua Pearce. 2021. "Open Source 3D-Printable Planetary Roller Screw for Food Processing Applications." Technologies 9, no. 2: 24.

Journal article
Published: 05 February 2021 in Energies
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Solar photovoltaic (PV) technology is now a profitable method to decarbonize the grid, but if catastrophic climate change is to be avoided, emissions from transportation and heating must also decarbonize. One approach to renewable heating is leveraging improvements in PV with heat pumps (HPs). To determine the potential for PV+HP systems in northern areas of North America, this study performs numerical simulations and economic analysis using the same loads and climate, but with local electricity and natural gas rates for Sault Ste. Marie, in both Canada and U.S. Ground-mounted, fixed-tilt, grid-tied PV systems are sized to match 100% of electric loads considering cases both with and without air source HPs for residences with natural gas-based heating. For the first time the results show North American residents can profitably install residential PV+HP systems, earning up to 1.9% return in the U.S. and 2.7% in Canada, to provide for all of their electric and heating needs. Returns on PV-only systems are higher, up to 4.3%; however, the PV capacities are less than half. These results suggest northern homeowners have a clear and simple method to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by making an investment that offers a higher internal rate of return than savings accounts, CDs and GICs in both countries. Residential PV and solar-powered heat pumps can be considered 25-year investments in financial security and environmental sustainability.

ACS Style

Joshua Pearce; Nelson Sommerfeldt. Economics of Grid-Tied Solar Photovoltaic Systems Coupled to Heat Pumps: The Case of Northern Climates of the U.S. and Canada. Energies 2021, 14, 834 .

AMA Style

Joshua Pearce, Nelson Sommerfeldt. Economics of Grid-Tied Solar Photovoltaic Systems Coupled to Heat Pumps: The Case of Northern Climates of the U.S. and Canada. Energies. 2021; 14 (4):834.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Joshua Pearce; Nelson Sommerfeldt. 2021. "Economics of Grid-Tied Solar Photovoltaic Systems Coupled to Heat Pumps: The Case of Northern Climates of the U.S. and Canada." Energies 14, no. 4: 834.

Journal article
Published: 04 February 2021 in Solar Energy
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Relentless cost declines in solar photovoltaic (PV) modules have radically reduced system costs, but the result is that racking costs have become more important. In this study a new open source racking method using earth and shotcrete-based ground mounts is investigated in two geographic regions: (1) Boa Vista, Brazil, where PV rows have an optimized shallow tilt angle and can be close-packed and (2) Kingston, Canada, where racks can make use of low concentration in the required inter-row spacing. Models are developed for both locations with single, double and triple vertical stacked shotcrete-based ground-mounted PV racking systems. Using these models bills of materials and energy simulations are produced to provide a cost benefit analysis specifically for the shotcrete racks. The results show that for utility-scale PV systems near the equator, a shotcrete racking system could reduce racking costs by 18–22% from the least expensive conventional racking and as much as 47% reduction for more expensive commercial racking. Economics is less clear for shotcrete-based racking at higher latitudes that incorporate low-concentration reflectors as they can be both lower and higher costs than conventional racking, but would be expected to produce at least 18% more electricity per installed Watt. Overall this novel racking concept was found to be promising, particularly for desert regions where it could reduce soiling losses. The results of this study indicate a need for future work to fully evaluate the potential of shotcrete racking to reduce solar electricity costs at the utility scale.

ACS Style

Madeleine R. Hollman; Joshua M. Pearce. Geographic potential of shotcrete photovoltaic racking: Direct and low-concentration cases. Solar Energy 2021, 216, 386 -395.

AMA Style

Madeleine R. Hollman, Joshua M. Pearce. Geographic potential of shotcrete photovoltaic racking: Direct and low-concentration cases. Solar Energy. 2021; 216 ():386-395.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Madeleine R. Hollman; Joshua M. Pearce. 2021. "Geographic potential of shotcrete photovoltaic racking: Direct and low-concentration cases." Solar Energy 216, no. : 386-395.

Journal article
Published: 30 January 2021 in Sustainable Cities and Society
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Community-scale energy planning entails concerted efforts for realizing localized energy and emission plans geared towards achieving energy sustainable communities. This is largely under-investigated for the developing world together with exploring the synergies between community planning and energy planning strategies. This study performs community-scale energy planning from 2015 to 2040 for Onyen-okpon and Giere, two rural communities in Nigeria. Utilizing the hybrid integration approach with the Low Emissions Analysis Platform model, the study investigates the implications for transforming rural communities to sustainable renewable based energy supply and quantitatively analyses the strategy integration based on four scenarios: the reference scenario and three composite demand side management scenarios. The results show that the integration of strategies has clear benefits with the composite scenarios availing reduced energy use with significant reductions in energy demand and greenhouse gases emissions. The third demand side management scenario provides the best performance among the composite scenarios in terms of demand and emissions reductions, energy conservation, and overall reduction in energy expenditures. The integration approach provides useful insights for design and implementation of localised energy policies across different sectors in the community where productive uses are taken into account for clean and sustainable economic production. This avails the opportunity to concurrently define and reach multiple targets, goals and impacts in reducing emissions while ensuring energy access and productive services.

ACS Style

B. Ugwoke; S.P. Corgnati; P. Leone; R. Borchiellini; J.M. Pearce. Low emissions analysis platform model for renewable energy: Community-scale case studies in Nigeria. Sustainable Cities and Society 2021, 67, 102750 .

AMA Style

B. Ugwoke, S.P. Corgnati, P. Leone, R. Borchiellini, J.M. Pearce. Low emissions analysis platform model for renewable energy: Community-scale case studies in Nigeria. Sustainable Cities and Society. 2021; 67 ():102750.

Chicago/Turabian Style

B. Ugwoke; S.P. Corgnati; P. Leone; R. Borchiellini; J.M. Pearce. 2021. "Low emissions analysis platform model for renewable energy: Community-scale case studies in Nigeria." Sustainable Cities and Society 67, no. : 102750.

Journal article
Published: 15 January 2021 in Renewable Energy
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This study investigates the energy related aspects of developing electric vehicle (EV) charging stations powered with solar photovoltaic (PV) canopies built on the parking infrastructure of large-scale retailers. A technical analysis is performed on parking lot areas located in the highest EV market coupled with charge station rates and capacities of the top ten EV. The results of a case study show a potential of 3.1 MW per Walmart Supercenter in the U.S., which could provide solar electricity for ∼100 EV charging stations. In the entire U.S., Walmart could potentially deploy 11.1 GW of solar canopies over only their Supercenter parking lots providing over 346,000 EV charging stations with solar electricity for their customers covering 90% of the American public living within 15 miles of a Walmart. This novel model could be adopted by any box store with the solar electricity sold for EV charging at a profit solving community charging challenges. In addition, however, the results for the first time indicate store owners could increase store selection and profit by providing free PV-EV charging for their customers with four mechanisms. Overall the results of this study are promising, but future work is needed to provide more granular quantification of the benefits of this approach.

ACS Style

Swaraj Sanjay Deshmukh; Joshua M. Pearce. Electric vehicle charging potential from retail parking lot solar photovoltaic awnings. Renewable Energy 2021, 169, 608 -617.

AMA Style

Swaraj Sanjay Deshmukh, Joshua M. Pearce. Electric vehicle charging potential from retail parking lot solar photovoltaic awnings. Renewable Energy. 2021; 169 ():608-617.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Swaraj Sanjay Deshmukh; Joshua M. Pearce. 2021. "Electric vehicle charging potential from retail parking lot solar photovoltaic awnings." Renewable Energy 169, no. : 608-617.

Journal article
Published: 13 January 2021 in Sustainability
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Solar photovoltaic (PV) energy technology can play a key role in decreasing the amount of carbon emissions associated with electrical energy production, while also providing an economically justifiable alternative to fossil fuel production. Solar energy technology is also extremely flexible in terms of the size and siting of technological development. Large scale PV farms, however, require access to large tracts of land, which can create community-scale conflict over siting solar energy development projects. While previous scholarship offers frameworks for understanding the mechanisms at play in socio-technological system transitions, including the renewable energy transition, those frameworks fail to center community priorities, values, and concerns, and therefore often do not provide an effective means of addressing community conflict over solar siting. This paper provides a conceptual exploration of how a proposed framework can guide decision making for solar development across multiple scales and settings, while also illuminating the potential barriers and bottlenecks that may limit the potential of solar energy development to occur in scales and forms that receive community acceptance and at the pace necessary to address the greenhouse gas emissions currently contributing to the rapidly changing global climate.

ACS Style

Chelsea Schelly; Don Lee; Elise Matz; Joshua Pearce. Applying a Relationally and Socially Embedded Decision Framework to Solar Photovoltaic Adoption: A Conceptual Exploration. Sustainability 2021, 13, 711 .

AMA Style

Chelsea Schelly, Don Lee, Elise Matz, Joshua Pearce. Applying a Relationally and Socially Embedded Decision Framework to Solar Photovoltaic Adoption: A Conceptual Exploration. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (2):711.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Chelsea Schelly; Don Lee; Elise Matz; Joshua Pearce. 2021. "Applying a Relationally and Socially Embedded Decision Framework to Solar Photovoltaic Adoption: A Conceptual Exploration." Sustainability 13, no. 2: 711.

Review
Published: 04 December 2020 in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews
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Distributed generation with solar photovoltaic (PV) technology is economically competitive if net metered in the U.S. Yet there is evidence that net metering is misrepresenting the true value of distributed solar generation so that the value of solar (VOS) is becoming the preferred method for evaluating economics of grid-tied PV. VOS calculations are challenging and there is widespread disagreement in the literature on the methods and data needed. To overcome these limitations, this study reviews past VOS studies to develop a generalized model that considers realistic future avoided costs and liabilities. The approach used here is bottom-up modeling where the final VOS for a utility system is calculated. The avoided costs considered are: plant O&M fixed and variable; fuel; generation capacity, reserve capacity, transmission capacity, distribution capacity, and environmental and health liability. The VOS represents the sum of these avoided costs. Each sub-component of the VOS has a sensitivity analysis run on the core variables and these sensitivities are applied for the total VOS. The results show that grid-tied utility customers are being grossly under-compensated in most of the U.S. as the value of solar eclipses the net metering rate as well as two-tiered rates. It can be concluded that substantial future work is needed for regulatory reform to ensure that grid-tied solar PV owners are not unjustly subsidizing U.S. electric utilities.

ACS Style

Koami Soulemane Hayibo; Joshua M. Pearce. A review of the value of solar methodology with a case study of the U.S. VOS. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 2020, 137, 110599 .

AMA Style

Koami Soulemane Hayibo, Joshua M. Pearce. A review of the value of solar methodology with a case study of the U.S. VOS. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 2020; 137 ():110599.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Koami Soulemane Hayibo; Joshua M. Pearce. 2020. "A review of the value of solar methodology with a case study of the U.S. VOS." Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 137, no. : 110599.

Journal article
Published: 29 November 2020 in Designs
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While schools struggle financially, capital for purchasing physical learning aids is often cut. To determine if costs could be reduced for learning aids, this study analyzed classroom-based distributed digital manufacturing using 3-D printing of open-source learning aid designs. Learning aid designs are analyzed in detail for their economic viability considering printing and assembly costs with purchased components and compared to equivalent or inferior commercial products available on Amazon. The results show current open-source 3-D printers are capable of manufacturing useful learning aids and that doing so provides high economic savings in the classroom. Overall, the average learning aid would save teachers 86% when fabricating it themselves. The results show that the average design evaluated was downloaded over 1,500 times and the average savings per year per open-source learning aid design was USD 11,822. To date, the 38 learning aid designs evaluated in this study saved over USD 45,000 each and the total of all of them saved the international educational community over USD 1.7 million. It is clear that investing in the development of open-source learning aids for students provides a return on investment (ROI) for investors hoping to improve education, on average, of more than 100%.

ACS Style

Nicole Gallup; Joshua M. Pearce. The Economics of Classroom 3-D Printing of Open-Source Digital Designs of Learning Aids. Designs 2020, 4, 50 .

AMA Style

Nicole Gallup, Joshua M. Pearce. The Economics of Classroom 3-D Printing of Open-Source Digital Designs of Learning Aids. Designs. 2020; 4 (4):50.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Nicole Gallup; Joshua M. Pearce. 2020. "The Economics of Classroom 3-D Printing of Open-Source Digital Designs of Learning Aids." Designs 4, no. 4: 50.

Journal article
Published: 28 November 2020 in Agronomy
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Agrivoltaic systems are a strategic and innovative approach to combine solar photovoltaic (PV)-based renewable energy generation with agricultural production. Recognizing the fundamental importance of farmer adoption in the successful diffusion of the agrivoltaic innovation, this study investigates agriculture sector experts’ perceptions on the opportunities and barriers to dual land-use systems. Using in-depth, semistructured interviews, this study conducts a first study to identify challenges to farmer adoption of agrivoltaics and address them by responding to societal concerns. Results indicate that participants see potential benefits for themselves in combined solar and agriculture technology. The identified barriers to adoption of agrivoltaics, however, include: (i) desired certainty of long-term land productivity, (ii) market potential, (iii) just compensation and (iv) a need for predesigned system flexibility to accommodate different scales, types of operations, and changing farming practices. The identified concerns in this study can be used to refine the technology to increase adoption among farmers and to translate the potential of agrivoltaics to address the competition for land between solar PV and agriculture into changes in solar siting, farming practice, and land-use decision-making.

ACS Style

Alexis S. Pascaris; Chelsea Schelly; Joshua M. Pearce. A First Investigation of Agriculture Sector Perspectives on the Opportunities and Barriers for Agrivoltaics. Agronomy 2020, 10, 1885 .

AMA Style

Alexis S. Pascaris, Chelsea Schelly, Joshua M. Pearce. A First Investigation of Agriculture Sector Perspectives on the Opportunities and Barriers for Agrivoltaics. Agronomy. 2020; 10 (12):1885.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Alexis S. Pascaris; Chelsea Schelly; Joshua M. Pearce. 2020. "A First Investigation of Agriculture Sector Perspectives on the Opportunities and Barriers for Agrivoltaics." Agronomy 10, no. 12: 1885.

Journal article
Published: 28 November 2020 in Energies
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A potential solution to the coupled water–energy–food challenges in land use is the concept of floating photovoltaics or floatovoltaics (FPV). In this study, a new approach to FPV is investigated using a flexible crystalline silicon-based photovoltaic (PV) module backed with foam, which is less expensive than conventional pontoon-based FPV. This novel form of FPV is tested experimentally for operating temperature and performance and is analyzed for water-savings using an evaporation calculation adapted from the Penman–Monteith model. The results show that the foam-backed FPV had a lower operating temperature than conventional pontoon-based FPV, and thus a 3.5% higher energy output per unit power. Therefore, foam-based FPV provides a potentially profitable means of reducing water evaporation in the world’s at-risk bodies of fresh water. The case study of Lake Mead found that if 10% of the lake was covered with foam-backed FPV, there would be enough water conserved and electricity generated to service Las Vegas and Reno combined. At 50% coverage, the foam-backed FPV would provide over 127 TWh of clean solar electricity and 633.22 million m3 of water savings, which would provide enough electricity to retire 11% of the polluting coal-fired plants in the U.S. and provide water for over five million Americans, annually.

ACS Style

Koami Soulemane Hayibo; Pierce Mayville; Ravneet Kaur Kailey; Joshua M. Pearce. Water Conservation Potential of Self-Funded Foam-Based Flexible Surface-Mounted Floatovoltaics. Energies 2020, 13, 6285 .

AMA Style

Koami Soulemane Hayibo, Pierce Mayville, Ravneet Kaur Kailey, Joshua M. Pearce. Water Conservation Potential of Self-Funded Foam-Based Flexible Surface-Mounted Floatovoltaics. Energies. 2020; 13 (23):6285.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Koami Soulemane Hayibo; Pierce Mayville; Ravneet Kaur Kailey; Joshua M. Pearce. 2020. "Water Conservation Potential of Self-Funded Foam-Based Flexible Surface-Mounted Floatovoltaics." Energies 13, no. 23: 6285.

Journal article
Published: 23 November 2020 in Ceramics International
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This study investigates the potential of utilizing multifunctional nanostructured materials for the efficient light trapping and electron transport in solar cells by combining titanium dioxide (TiO2) rods and nanoparticles. A simple solvothermal method was adopted for the synthesis of coupled morphology adopting the desired precursor with the constant concentration and temperature. The reaction duration (12, 24, 36 and 48 h) was varied and the materials resultant physical, optical and structural characteristics were elucidated to determine the nature of the prepared material. The crystallographic phase of the synthesized samples was determined with XRD and Raman analysis. From the experimental data it is hypothesized that the surface plane of anatase (105) is involved in the deformation of the structure and the formation of the rutile phase. To further investigate on the formation of mixed phase in the prepared sample a computation study was performed using density functional theory coupled to the Hubbard U correction (DFT + U) as a function of volume in both the anatase and rutile phases. The relative stability of the O–Ti–O networks is explored starting from ultrathin materials for four different sizes, of anatase and rutile nanorods separately. Finally, the synthesized TiO2 materials were used to prepare screen printed dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) devices and their respective properties were quantified.

ACS Style

R. Selvapriya; V. Sasirekha; P. Vajeeston; J.M. Pearce; J. Mayandi. Reaction induced multifunctional TiO2 rod/particle nanostructured materials for screen printed dye sensitized solar cells. Ceramics International 2020, 47, 8094 -8104.

AMA Style

R. Selvapriya, V. Sasirekha, P. Vajeeston, J.M. Pearce, J. Mayandi. Reaction induced multifunctional TiO2 rod/particle nanostructured materials for screen printed dye sensitized solar cells. Ceramics International. 2020; 47 (6):8094-8104.

Chicago/Turabian Style

R. Selvapriya; V. Sasirekha; P. Vajeeston; J.M. Pearce; J. Mayandi. 2020. "Reaction induced multifunctional TiO2 rod/particle nanostructured materials for screen printed dye sensitized solar cells." Ceramics International 47, no. 6: 8094-8104.

Journal article
Published: 08 October 2020 in Journal of Cleaner Production
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Land-use conflicts created by the growth of solar photovoltaics (PV) can be mitigated by applying the concept of agrivoltaics, that is, the co-development of land for both PV and agricultural purposes, to commercial-scale solar installations. In this study, we present a conceptual design for a novel agrivoltaic system based on pasture-fed rabbit farming and provide the technical, environmental and economic analyses to demonstrate the viability of the concept. Included in our analysis are the economic advantages to the PV operator of grazing rabbits at a density sufficient to control vegetative growth, thus reducing the economic and environmental costs of mowing; the dual-revenue stream from the sale of both rabbits and electricity, contrasted with estimates of the capital-investment costs for rabbits co-located with, and also independent of, PV; and the economic value to the rabbit farmer of higher colony-growth rates (made possible by the shading and predator protection provided by the PV arrays and of reduced fencing costs, which are the largest capital cost, by being able to leverage the PV systems for rabbit fencing. We also provide an environmental analysis that suggests that rabbit-PV farming is a pathway to a measurable reduction in agriculturally-generated greenhouse-gas emissions. Our calculations indicate that the co-location of solar and rabbit farms is a viable form of agrivoltaics, increasing overall site revenue by 2.5%–24.0% above projected electricity revenue depending on location and rental/ownership of rabbits, while providing a high-value agricultural product that, on a per weight basis, has significantly less environmental impact than cattle.

ACS Style

William Lytle; Theresa K. Meyer; Nagendra G. Tanikella; Laurie Burnham; Julie Engel; Chelsea Schelly; Joshua M. Pearce. Conceptual Design and Rationale for a New Agrivoltaics Concept: Pasture-Raised Rabbits and Solar Farming. Journal of Cleaner Production 2020, 282, 124476 .

AMA Style

William Lytle, Theresa K. Meyer, Nagendra G. Tanikella, Laurie Burnham, Julie Engel, Chelsea Schelly, Joshua M. Pearce. Conceptual Design and Rationale for a New Agrivoltaics Concept: Pasture-Raised Rabbits and Solar Farming. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2020; 282 ():124476.

Chicago/Turabian Style

William Lytle; Theresa K. Meyer; Nagendra G. Tanikella; Laurie Burnham; Julie Engel; Chelsea Schelly; Joshua M. Pearce. 2020. "Conceptual Design and Rationale for a New Agrivoltaics Concept: Pasture-Raised Rabbits and Solar Farming." Journal of Cleaner Production 282, no. : 124476.