PARCON

Policy
Guiding Principles
Operational Guidelines

Table of Contents:

POLICY

GOALS

Objectives

Organization and Process. Develop an organization of researchers among universities and industry within the Pacific Rim, and a process that address energy utilization (production, distribution, and use), research, and related environmental impacts specific to the Pacific Rim.

Dialogue. Promote and accelerate a developing dialogue within and among participating nations regarding the availability, distribution, use, and environmental impacts associated with the utilization of energy in the region.

Acquire, Exchange, and Archive Information. Acquire, exchange, and archive information on the technologies in the Pacific Rim that have been developed by individual countries and have been demonstrated to improve the efficiency of energy utilization and to reduce environmental impacts.

Develop and Transfer Technologies. Establish and implement strategies for conveying information to developed, nearly developed, and developing countries including a WWW clearinghouse, a biennial colloquium, research initiatives, internships, seminars, and workshops.

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GUIDING PRINCIPLES

AUDIENCE

BELIEF AND VALUES OF STATEMENT

PARCON is a team effort that addresses the conflict between the generation, distribution, and use of ENERGY, and the resultant impacts on the ENVIRONMENT. PARCON is based on the principles that group synergism produces greater results, a willingness to share resources and experiences with developing countries, a responsibility to promote environmental quality in balance with sustainable economic development in balance with sustainable economic development, and a belief in cultural diversity in problem solving.

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STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

The Pacific Rim Consortium in Energy, Combustion, and the Environment (PARCON) aims to promote the advancement of efficient energy production, distribution, and use technologies and environmental control technologies in the Pacific Rim by exchange of ideas, identification of research areas and reporting on energy utilization and conservation. By serving as a model, PARCON airs to affect advancement of energy and environmental technologies in the world as a whole. The audience of interest includes business leaders, public policy makers, researchers, regulators, government staff, industrial staff, and faculty and students.

Mission Statement (Next 5 Years)

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OPERATIONAL GUIDELINES

Participants

The participants in the Consortium include key research academic institutions within each country concerned with the utilization of energy resources and the associated environmental impacts, and key research industries responsible for the provision of energy resources. The CORE group consists of:

The number of participants is limited to assure equity and uniformity in representation for each country and to maximize the probability of effective exchange at the working meetings of the CORE group. In addition, the industry representation in each country encompasses different types of industry (e.g., utility, fuel supply, large energy consumer, etc.); duplication of one type is precluded. Each country has a liaison/coordinator who serves as the control point for communication and coordination within each country, between each country, and between the country and UCI.

Each industrial participant contributes $15,000 per year to the program. In addition, each industrial participant supports the travel expenses for their representatives to participate in Consortium activities. Funding is used to support working meetings, travel of the participating university faculty, study group meetings, a data base clearinghouse, a newsletter, and overall program coordination.

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Current candidates for new members include Australia, Indonesia, China, Mexico, and Russia. The current policy is to (1) initiate the process by identifying and inviting key individuals/institutions to upcoming workshops as guests, and (2) follow the guidelines set forth below in order to preserve and foster the spirit of interaction and broad energy/environmental perspective under which PARCON is founded:

- Candidate must have strong Pacific Rim interest and perspective.

- Candidate must be a significant energy supplier and/or consumer, energy/environmental equipment/instrumentation manufacturer, energy and/or environmental researcher, or energy and/or environmental educator.

- Candidate represents a country that is a significant political and economical factor in the region.

- Candidate provides a needed area of expertise.

- Candidate shares areas of interest with respect to PARCON in general, and applicable research and technologies in particular.

- Candidate shares environmental considerations.

- Candidate has a leading role in the country, and can serve as a "champion" for PARCON in the country.

 

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Communication is standardized on e-mail with the use of FAX as a back-up. PARCON WORLD (http://parcon.eng.uci.edu/) is to rapidly evolve as the communication tool of choice.

In all correspondence, group members and PARCON (info@parcon.uci.edu) need to be "copied."

A secondary strategy for communication is to schedule ad-hoc meetings at technical, society, and company exchange meetings. Many of the participants attend such meetings between the workshops, and such an opportunity represents an excellent vehicle to maintain and promote interaction.

The strategy to adopted to meet the PARCON goals and objectives is a two prong process that is founded on "Technology Brainstorming" upon which is maintained an active outreach program of "Technology Development and Transfer."

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The purpose of the "Technology Brainstorming" is to:

(1) Maintain a dialogue regarding the availability, utilization, and impacts associated with the generation, distribution, and use of energy in the Pacific Rim Region;

(2) Maintain the exchange and sharing of information regarding the technologies in the Pacific Rim that have been developed and demonstrated to improve the efficiency of fossil fuel utilization and reduce the associated environmental impacts;

(3) Establish an information data base and perspective relative to energy efficient and environmental control technologies.

(4) Form the foundation of information and perspective upon which the process of "Technology Development and Transfer" can be formulated and launched including the activities of PARCON WORLD, the Biennial Colloquium, Research, Strategic Alliances, Strategic Technologies, World Bank Projects, Internships, Seminars, and Workshops.

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Technology Brainstorming consists of three elements: Working Meetings, Study Groups, and Exchanges

Working Meetings. Two working meetings of the CORE group are held each year in October and February. The purpose of the working meetings is to review and implement the Consortium goals and objectives and evaluate the extent to which the goals and objectives of the Consortium are being met. Reports of study groups are presented and discussed with emphasis on the extent to which each is meeting the program goals and objectives and promoting collaboration and communication within the Pacific Rim region. The emphasis of the workshops is directed to the research strategies that can be individually and/or collectively implemented to improve the utilization of energy in the region. These strategies must also consider the direct impact that the energy utilization will have on the quality of life, standard of living, and economic health of the region.

Study Groups. The Study Groups are the cornerstone of the PARCON. Specific responsibilities include the assignment of a "topic," considered to be critical to the charter of the PARCON, for careful discussion, study, and analysis. The Study Groups compile the data base, formulate the white papers, and assure that the information is acquired, archived, and evaluated to meet the dissemination goal of PARCON. Currently, four "core" Study Groups are addressing Natural Gas Technologies, Electro-Technologies, Carbon Dioxide, and Energy Conservation, and two "applications" Study Groups are addressing Information and Instrumentation.

Future topics will be selected from the following list:

• Alternate Fuel Vehicles (i.e., Natural Gas/Electric)
• Advanced Power Generation (Hi Efficiency, Low Impact) e.g.
  • High Efficiency Co-Generation
  • Fuel Cells
  • Clean Coal Technologies
  • Advanced Low NOx Combustion Technologies
  • Renewables
• Acid Rain
• Thermal Efficiency Standardization
• "Air Shed" Control Strategy
• Air Pollution Control Technologies
• Combustion Measurements/Simulation

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The policy is to not immediately add a topic. Instead, to await the initial returns from the Study Group Data Base analyses that are presently assigned. In addition, the current policy is to select topics that are of "global" interest and ramification, with "Country-Specific" topics to be addressed by the exchange program.

Exchanges. Exchanges are hosted between participating institutions including both students, faculty, and technology personnel from the industries. The exchanges facilitate the information archiving and Study Group process, and promote both the transfer of technology, expertise, and perspective in support of the PARCON goals.

The purpose of the "Technology Development and Transfer" is to:

(1) Maintain an information data base relevant to current and advanced energy efficient and environmental control technologies that is accessible to the world at large; and to present a biennial colloquium as a vehicle for transferring the information and simulating dialogue regarding current and advanced technologies.

(2) Establish initiatives that can promote the evolution of new energy efficient and environmental control technologies through research, and the identification of strategic alliances and strategic technologies, and that can promote the use of state-of-the-art technologies in developing nations by championing high quality World Bank projects.

(3) Maintain an active program of educational outreach through the provision of internships, seminars, and workshops.

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Technology Development and Transfer consists of three elements: Information, Initiatives, and Education.

Information. The Consortium has committed to maintaining a current data base on information relevant to the participating members and the world community as a whole. Included are "generic" categories (such as energy demand and energy supply statistics by country, and air quality regulations), and "topic-specific" categories (such as natural gas, conservation, and CO2 reduction) with information on research projects by country, and compliance strategies.

In addition to the data base, each study group provides a "white paper" on an assigned topic. This "Data Base with a Story" is projected to be 50 pages in length with a format of general interest and scope, e.g.:

• Executive Summary
• History of Technology
• Energy and Environmental Implications
• Technical Analysis (Pros/Cons, Challenges, Targets)
• Technical Sources
  • Societies
  • Journals
  • Meetings
• Principal Manufacturers
• Research Centers
  • Universities
  • National Laboratories
  • Private Institutes
• Principal Consulting Companies
• Case Studies
• Status in Member Countries

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PARCON also presents, beginning in 1998, a biennial international colloquium to report on the studies of the study groups and incorporate the presentation of select technical papers and discussion sessions regarding technologies relevant to the Pacific Rim. The majority of registrants will represent Pacific Rim Countries. Representation will include both engineers and energy planners with the goal of disseminating information among a greater population within the Pacific Rim.

Initiatives. Four initiatives are coordinated by PARCON. The first is the promotion of research and research coordination among participants. The second is the development of strategic alliances among participants in order to promote technology development and deployment. The third is the promotion of new energy efficient and environmental control technologies of strategic interest and application. The fourth is the championing of quality proposals from developing countries to the World Bank.

Education. Education is a high priority for PARCON and includes enhanced education in the university programs by participating faculty who are enlightened by the PARCON, internships of students, faculty, industry, regulators at participating institutions, seminars provided on request to target institutions, and technology workshops associated with the Biennial Colloquium. For one day before, and one day after the colloquium, workshops in technologies germane to energy utilization, diagnostics, modeling, and control technologies will be offered.

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