October 3, 2025 • 2:46 pm | Nexus
Co-composted biochar field trial (corn harvest) Supported by the Southern SARE On-Farm Research program, this project is testing the use of biochar in local farm fields to better understand its effects on soil health and crop production. With support from the...
September 29, 2025 • 4:49 pm
Appalachian Energy Center Director Dr. Jamie Russell is spearheading plans for a study on the feasibility of installing microgrids to armor some schools against prolonged power outages — especially because school buildings tend to be places where residents congregate...
September 12, 2025 • 3:43 pm
From Response to Resilience: Lessons from Tropical Storm Helene Date/Time: Tuesday, September 30 4:30-5:30 pm Location: Katherine Harper Hall, Room 17 Visit the Energy Center Sustainable Energy Speaker Series page for more information. Western North Carolina continues...
March 6, 2025 • 12:50 pm | Nexus
Turning Hurricane Debris into Biochar at Mountainwise Farm Mountainwise Farm faced significant damage from Hurricane Helene, including downed trees and the loss of several high tunnels. In response, the Nexus team brought three Oregon kilns and a Ring of Fire to the...
January 28, 2025 • 5:02 pm | Nexus
Dr. Jeremy Ferrell, Nexus Project Leader and Associate Professor at the Dept. of STBE, and STBE graduate student Joe Rebilas conducted a study of 2023 data that compared the environments of different types of greenhouses and analyzed the collected data. This...
October 1, 2024 • 4:25 pm
Appalachian Energy Center is excited to announce a new specialized training program in North Carolina offered by Phius. Phius Trades Training provides building construction professionals with the specialized knowledge and expertise necessary to implement passive...
September 25, 2024 • 1:30 pm | Nexus
Direct solar PV hot water for hydroponic system Nexus designed a direct solar PV water heating system using the existing PV array installed in the greenhouse. The original system included eight 195W panels wired into four sets in parallel and two in series, forming...
September 25, 2024 • 9:27 am
Kempower Executive Shares Vision for North Carolina’s Role in Electrified Transportation Kempower’s U.S. Head of Partners and Support presented insight into the future of EV charging and infrastructure, and North Carolina’s vital role in that vision,...
March 5, 2024 • 2:03 pm | Nexus
Nexus Research Explores Readily Available Resources That Enhance Results Biochar- Anaerobic Digestion of Food Waste Food waste contains a variety of substrates, making it difficult to maintain optimal process conditions during anaerobic digestion (AD)1....
February 20, 2024 • 9:25 am
“We have just experienced the hottest 10 years of our existence,” Mike Kapp said. “Things are moving in the wrong direction and we need to do something about it.” Kapp presented on Tuesday afternoon as part of The Sustainable Energy Speaker Series, an ongoing...
September 25, 2023 • 5:16 pm | Nexus
Nexus Project Experiments Continue to Advance Agricultural Innovations 1. Biochar Preparation: Wet Biochar Crushing Biochar particle size has a great impact on its physical properties such as total porosity and BET surface area, which enhance water-holding capacity...
June 14, 2023 • 10:59 am
Held June 7-9, the 11th annual Appalachian Energy Summit convened hundreds of sustainability professionals, faculty, administrators, and students at App State for an immersive, solution-oriented experience focusing on clean energy and sustainability issues. The...
March 1, 2023 • 5:44 pm
The Appalachian Energy Center is pleased to welcome Kate Bashford to the team. Kate will serve as the Clean Energy and Storage Project Manager for STEPs4GROWTH, a four-year, $23.7 million statewide workforce development program funded by the Department of...
February 1, 2023 • 9:47 am | Nexus
Last semester, Nexus served App State and the greater community as a center for education, research, and outreach. A total of 16.5 hours of field days were conducted at Nexus, including five App State classes, one tour for App State’s Renewable Energy Initiative...
