Seminar: “Balancing Energy and Conservation: Utility-Scale Solar Development in California”

The Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future invites you to attend an upcoming seminar, “Balancing Energy and Conservation: Utility-Scale Solar Development in California” featuring Frank Davis, a professor at UC Santa Barbara’s Bren School of Environmental Science & Management. The seminar will take place on Thursday, April 12 from 12:00 – 1:30 pm (lunch will be available at 11:30 am) at the Pardee Center at 67 Bay State Road.

California aims to derive half of its electricity generation (160 TWh) from renewable energy sources by 2030, much of which might be produced by utility-scale solar facilities. To minimize conflicts between renewable energy production and other land use goals, a wide range of regional planning efforts have been undertaken, the most ambitious being the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP). Prof. Davis will review current trends in renewable energy production in California, describe the DRECP effort, and summarize findings from a spatial model examining projected future solar energy development, residential development, and climate change in the western Mojave Desert.

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Frank Davis is a professor at UC Santa Barbara’s Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, where he teaches landscape ecology and conservation planning. He directs the La Kretz Research Center at the UC Sedgwick Reserve, and is also Executive Director of the National Communications Office of the Long Term Ecological Research Network. From 2011 to 2016 he directed the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis. Frank’s research focuses on the ecology and conservation of California species and ecosystems in a changing climate, with a particular focus on oak woodland and forest ecosystems. He is committed to connecting ecological science to environmental policy and management, and is Vice-President for Public Affairs for the Ecological Society of America. An Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellow, Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and Fellow of the Ecological Society of America, Frank received his PhD in Geography and Environmental Engineering from The Johns Hopkins University and his BA in Biology from Williams College.