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2009 SFI Speaker Series

Peter Flynn, P. Eng., Ph.D.
Professor and Poole Chair in Management for Engineers - Emeritus
Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta Canada
Biomass Energy: A Criterion for Picking the Right Technology

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Biomass is a carbon neutral potential fuel source for electrical power generation or transportation fuels, each by two routes. This raises the question: what is the object of renewable energy and how does one select the "best technology?" We propose that for all countries focused on greenhouse gas mitigation, the minimum incremental cost per unit of greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction, in essence the carbon credit required to economically sustain a renewable energy plant, is the most appropriate social criterion for choosing from a myriad of alternatives. Key steps in evaluating the required carbon credit include determining the appropriate scale for a given technology, the avoided carbon per unit of useful energy output, and the carbon credit required to provide an adequate return on investment for each technology. The application of this criterion is illustrated for four processing alternatives for straw/corn stover in central and western North America: production of power by direction combustion and biomass integrated gasification and combined cycle (BIGCC), and production of transportation fuel via lignocellulosic ethanol and Fischer Tropsch (FT) syndiesel. The methodology is suitable for other forms of renewable energy including woody biomass. The social policy implications of this approach are reviewed.

Peter Flynn received a Ph. D. from the University of Alberta in Chemical Engineering in 1974, and then spent 25 years in engineering, management and executive roles in Canada's energy industry. From 1984 to 1988 he served as President of CNG Fuel Systems, North America's largest supplier of equipment to let vehicles use compressed natural gas as a vehicle fuel. In 1999 he returned to the University of Alberta to oversee the Engineering Management graduate program. He has authored a textbook, Financial Management for Engineers, and did research in greenhouse gas mitigation, mainly biomass economics, and in power price patterns in deregulated markets and its implications for pumped storage.

Dan P. Davison, CEO
Double Helix Management Services Ltd
The Millennium Model Research Foundation:
Socio-Economic Model for a Sustainable Future

The slogan of the Millennium Model Research Foundation is “Building 1000 Self-Sustainable Communities on Principles that last for 1000 Years”. The presentation will quickly lead the audience through the need to embrace philosophies of The Moral Explosion, which describes the philosophy for sustaining the human community, and then describes the practical enterprise model to support the community. Together, these will form the social-economic base for 1000 Self-Sustainable Communities as given in the business description of Double Helix Management Services Ltd. The talk will describe the immediate implementation of 10 Self-Sustainable Communities and how those communities are expected to develop 10 more with an additional round of development through the leadership and education arm of The Millennium Model Research Foundation.

Dan Davison has held international corporate executive and management positions in the industries of energy; food, farm and facilities; transportation and communications; currency and banking; health and wellness; education and training. He has most recently started a new company called Double Helix Management Systems Ltd. as the financial arm of his non-profit foundation called “The Millennium Model Research Foundation”. The monetization and capitalization are based on gold bullion and 6 infra-structure industries reflecting absolute values for everyone involved with global impact, and will be launched in late 2009. The foundation and investment management firm were formed as part of a unique monetization and capitalization system devised by Davison which are themselves designed to support the implementation and construction of 1000 self-sustainable communities. The communities are to be established on different continents and each community will accommodate at least 10,000 persons.

Yu Cai's research studies the promotion of green computing without sacrificing performance and security in computing systems to build a sustainable future. His educational plan is to advocate and integrate sustainability into computing education. Green computing represents a dramatic change in the priority of the IT industry from its traditional economic cost/benefit model to the new sustainable model.