Stanford’s $100 Million Energy Institute
Stanford University received $100 million in donations for alternative energy research. The funds will allow the school to expand their research aimed at making renewable energy as economically feasible as oil and natural gas.
[Wind Power. Creative Commons photo by Bryan Siders]
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Donations came from a number of folks, including $50 million from Jay Precourt, the oil executive that founded the institute. Stanford trustee Thomas Steyer and his wife donated $40 million, and the other $10 million came from Google CEO Eric Schmidt, North American Power Group, ltd president Michael Ruffatto, and Douglas Kimmelman from Energy Capital Partners.
The credit crisis has caused a downturn for alternative energy research funding, as large companies cut back on sustainability programs and research. It’s heartening to see individuals and businesses pulling together to fund this research, especially during such tough economic times!
The U.S. imports about two thirds of its oil, and that worries donors like Precort. They see alternative fuels and the research they’re funding at the Precort Institute for Energy as an investment in energy security. Donations will allow Stanford to create seven or eight new faculty positions and fellowships while giving better resources to graduate energy programs. University president John Hennessy said:
Universities such as Stanford need to focus their full talent on the greatest challenges facing the world today. Energy is certainly one of those issues, posing a threat to our economy, to national security and, through the use of fossil fuels, to our environment. Addressing the challenge of energy will require research on a wide range of issues, from energy efficiency to development and deployment of renewable sources, to reducing the effect of fossil fuels.
