SDG 7 - Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

Find the most recent Gazette stories for this goal here.

Teaching and Learning:

• The Master of Applied Science in Energy Systems Engineering (MESE) program focuses on energy generation and utilization, and electrical aspects of energy engineering. This program includes courses such as Energy Storage, Thermal Power Plants, Fundamentals of Energy Systems, Renewable Energy Systems, Solar Engineering, Energy and the Environment, and Electrical Power Systems.

Research: 

• Mark Stoddard, a sociologist for Memorial, contributed to a 2016-2017 report that examined how Canada could act to limit global warming while remaining economically competitive. This report, signed by 71 university researchers from all 10 provinces, suggested that decreased demand for fossil fuels over the coming decades could significantly reduce inward investment in the oil and gas sector and make the industry riskier and less attractive.
• Memorial is at the forefront of research around access to electricity, increasing renewable energy use in the electricity sector and improving energy efficiency including developing an innovative way to convert wind energy into heat through a turbine system and through the GeoScan Project which was announced in 2021, intending to develop solutions to de-risk offshore wind, oil and gas, and other offshore installations in glacial seabeds.

Public Engagement:

• A Marine Institute researcher and two Memorial alumni won first place in the national competition CanInfra Challenge for innovative ideas to solve Canadian infrastructure problems in 2018. They pitched wind energy — utilizing an array of battery “microgrids” to store power generated by wind turbines — as a reliable, sustainable and clean alternative to diesel-generated electricity in Nunavut.

Administration:

• In 2022, Memorial announced that they will be shifting buildings from primarily oil-fueled heating systems to systems primarily powered by clean electricity from the province’s vastly renewable hydroelectric grid. It is anticipated that there will be a reduction in fuel consumption of 10.5 million litres of fuel each year, a reduction of 80–85 percent.
• The Sustainability and Climate Action Office was created in 2020 to elevate the formal and strategic structure of sustainability and climate action. The office will devise a strategic planning process for the development of strategies, policies, plans and initiatives to embrace a sustainability culture at Memorial.
• In 2017, Memorial signed an agreement with Honeywell to find ways to save energy and reduce the university’s utility costs. It focused on energy-efficient solutions designed to upgrade facilities, reduce operating costs, improve indoor air quality and reduce environmental emissions.