SAN FRANCISCO, April 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. University of California (UC) has stepped up its efforts to work with the Ministry of Energy of Mexico (SENER) by announcing 10 million U.S. dollars in new funding to support energy efficiency research projects.
UC President Janet Napolitano joined Mexican Secretary of Energy Pedro Joaquín Coldwell this week in Mexico City to launch a request for proposals that will award up to 200 million pesos, or 10 million U.S. dollars, to energy efficiency projects in Mexico.
Building on a Memorandum of Understanding signed by UC and the SENER in October 2014, UC is partnering with the ministry and research institutions in Mexico to accelerate the clean energy transition on both sides of the Mexico-U.S. border through applied research collaborations and exchanges of students and faculty.
The new funding is expected to help identify priorities in the areas of lighting technology, energy and water efficiency, smart buildings and the future electric grid.
The request for proposals will advance shared goals of increasing energy efficiency in buildings and cities by investing in demonstration projects and microgrids.
"Through demonstration projects, innovative technology and integrated solutions to optimize our energy use, we will work together to achieve Mexico's and California's common long-term goal of finding solutions to the biggest challenges that humanity faces," Napolitano said in a UC news release.
"What works in Mexico will help Californians -- just as what works in California will benefit Mexicans."
Napolitano launched the UC-Mexico Initiative to foster partnerships between UC and Mexican universities, governmental agencies, the private sector and foundations, and to address topics of mutual concern, with focus on key areas of interest to both California and Mexico.
As a public research university that claims to be a leader in energy sustainability, UC is dedicated to finding solutions to the related pressing global problems of climate change, air pollution and access to clean water.
Napolitano launched the UC Carbon Neutrality Initiative in 2013, setting the goal for the UC system to become carbon-neutral by 2025.
To date, energy efficiency measures and clean energy projects implemented across the UC system have generated savings of 28 million dollars a year in energy costs.
