Research Publications

The Carbon Accounting Subgroup developed and implemented a comprehensive carbon accounting model for the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, Dearborn, and Flint campuses). The model integrates existing...

This paper presents an Agent-Based Model that determines the minimum cost strategy for rural electrification delivery systems and associated decentralized generation focusing entirely on renewable ...

Carbon capture and utilization for concrete production (CCU concrete) is estimated to sequester 0.1 to 1.4 gigatons of carbon dioxide (CO2) by 2050. However, existing estimates do not account for t...

Despite hosting nearly 8% of the United States’ wind energy potential, only one utility-scale wind farm exists on tribal lands. Several barriers hindering tribes’ capacity to harness their lands’ w...

The electric power sector in the United States faces many challenges related to climate change. On the demand side, climate change could shift demand patterns due to increased air temperatures. On the...

Power systems worldwide are becoming more reliant on energy from natural gas, wind, and solar, posing potential reliability and coordination challenges from the tighter coupling of these infrastructur...

The United States (U.S.) imports 87 percent of its avocados from a single Mexican region, Michoacán. Although environmental and social costs associated with avocado production are significant, consume...

The United States spends more on health care than any other OECD country, yet the nation’s health is declining. Recent research has identified multiple sources for this decline, including one’s pos...

Aquaponics technology has recently been offered as a good option for sustainable food systems among small-scale farmers, particularly those seeking an organic production or dealing with land quality c...

The cold chain (refrigerated supply chain) is an important application of refrigeration technologies. The capacity of the cold chain industry is growing rapidly in emerging economies such as China,...

The past decade was the wettest on record for much of central and eastern North America. Near the beginning of this period of regional water abundance, however, drought conditions reinforced concer...

Although the environmental and social burdens associated with the production of beef are well-understood, due to supply chain complexities, we rarely know precisely where these impacts occur or who...

Over the past several decades in the United States (US), community-based nongovernmental organizations and nonprofit community action agencies (CAAs) have emerged as leaders in the hollow state, with ...

Climate change, public health, and resilience to power outages are of critical concern to local governments and are increasingly motivating investments in on-site solar and storage. However, design...

The cold chain (refrigerated supply chain) preserves the value of perishable products and it is rapidly expanding in China. The environmental impacts of cold chain expansion are of increasing concern ...

Electrifying most fossil-fuel-burning applications provides a pathway to achieving cost-effective deep decarbonization of the economy. Heat pumps offer a feasible and energy-efficient way to electr...

The authors are founding team members of a new effort to develop an Open Energy Outlook for the United States. The effort aims to apply best practices of policy-focused energy system modeling, ensure ...

Urine diversion has been proposed as an approach for producing renewable fertilizers and reducing nutrient loads to wastewater treatment plants. Life cycle assessment was used to compare environmental...

This paper examines the coexistence of microgrid and central grid connections for households in India and studies the relationship between these connections and their individual contributions to socia...

Since 1976, the U.S. Department of Energy's Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) has provided state block grants for no-to low-cost energy efficiency retrofits for more than 7 million low-income...

Refrigerator ownership accompanies socio-economic development, with the potential to change human diets. Household refrigerator ownership in Vietnam has increased from 13% to 59% between 2004-2014....

Carbon capture and utilization (CCU) to produce methanol is a beneficial pathway to use carbon dioxide (CO2) and mitigate climate change. Existing life cycle assessments demonstrate that CCU methan...

Corporations, including automotive manufacturers, are increasingly exploring extended circular economy strategies as a means to enhance the sustainability of their products. The circular economy pa...