| Last updated on October 15, 2007 |
AHEAD Energy® is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) housed at the University of Rochester in New York, USA. Its raison d'etre springs from humanitarian concern for people and the environment. Founded in 1988 by petroleum engineer Ben W. Ebenhack, AHEAD Energy has enlisted supplemental resources from academia to address localized, environmentally-sound, and scalable energy transitions in developing nations.
Description:
AHEAD Energy uses charitable dollars to overcome initial barriers in bringing conscientious energy solutions to poor communities, paving the way for local ventures to develop and expand. By "conscientious" we mean solutions that optimize safety, health, technical viability, social responsibility, cultural appropriateness, economic competitiveness, efficiency, and environmental protection. In particular, AHEAD focused on providing reliable energy by developing natural gas resources that can work in tandem with renewable energy technologies.
AHEAD Energy primarily targets natural gas for several reasons:
- It is a well-established energy resource.
- It exists in many places throughout the world.
- It is the cleanest and most efficient of the carbon-based fuels.
- It usually requires no processing.
- It is easily adapted to a number of uses, thus effectively meeting both basic household needs and commercial requirements.
Gas can supplement or back up renewable energy systems such as solar and wind technologies. AHEAD works closely with local partners to assess needs and tailor the most appropriate technology (or technologic mix) to each context. AHEAD offers expertise in resource identification and production, and transitions from depleting combustion-fuel dependence using evolving energy mixes. We are committed to planning evolving energy mixes to optimize near term benefits, while progressing toward increased sustainability.
AHEAD Energy has worked on projects in Mozambique, Ghana, and with the Seneca Nation of Indians. Through AHEAD, university students and faculty have produced numerous studies on Mozambique's energy sector, some involving field work in Mozambique. In 1991, AHEAD assisted Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos de Mozambique (ENH) in designing a polyethylene pipeline to bring gas from the Pande gas field to the Town of Vilankulo. The pipeline, the first of its kind in Africa, was installed shortly thereafter. AHEAD staff returned in 1998 to work with ENH on an analysis.
AHEAD Energy has produced reports for the World Bank and Shell Foundation on assessing the potential of pro-poor small-scale gas projects. In conjunction with its partners, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane and ENH, AHEAD completed a pre-feasibility study on energy supply extensions in Mozambique, focused on gas which is being piped from the Temane gas field in Mozambique to Secunda, South Africa. This effort not only solidified relationships but illuminated a number of new and continuing projects that the partnership is eager to pursue using PROS2 volunteers.
Though AHEAD Energy functions as a nonprofit, our efforts do not stop with charity. We readily acknowledge the need for nonprofits to work in partnership with for-profit energy companies, local governments, and community stakeholders. We require of ourselves that projects we work on must ultimately be scalable, economically sustainable, environmentally conscientious, and locally-controlled.
History:
Ben W. Ebenhack founded AHEAD Energy in 1988 after an associate, Karen Fields, convinced Ben that his Chemical Engineering expertise as an established petroleum engineer and his emerging interest in helping under-developed nations in Africa was a worthy pursuit. At the time Karen was the Head of the Frederick Douglass Institute for African and African-American Studies at the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York. Ben had resigned his position as an International Exploration Manager at Union Oil Company of Wyoming in (month) of 1987 to enable his dream of starting a non-profit and to avoid a conflict of interest with his position at Union Oil.
"It all started as an idea in the mind of petroleum engineer Ben Ebenhack as he watched a TV documentary on the drought in Ethiopia," states the Rochester, NY 'LOCAL Democrat and Chonicle.' The people of that impoverished and famine-stricken nation needed energy and he thought he new how to get it."
After achieving an M.S. in 1984 at the University of Wyoming, Ben "spent 11 years as an exploration analyst for Unocal Corp., a major multi-national energy company. Much of his work centered around discovering oil that others had missed. He analyzed geographic data to predict whether or not a well in a given area would likely be fruitful." Now, to begin his new pursuit, Ben responded to an ad printed in The Chronicle of Higher Education, a weekly publication of news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty and administration, that Karen had posted. He was subsequently granted a one year Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Fredrick Douglas Institute in of 1987 where he taught an African Resource class, a part-time position, for eleven years. He eventually was given a full-time teaching position at the University of Rochester's Chemical Engineering Department.
Ben wanted to provide cheap energy to African countries by redrilling shallow oil and gas wells that commercial developers had abandoned as unprofitable for export. With the help of Karen and the Frederick Douglass Institute Ben established AHEAD (Access to Energy for African Development) and began looking to raise about $2 millon in start-up funds to get operations off the ground. Ben?s wife, Dr. Mary Jeanette (MJ) Ebenhack, came onboard almost immediately to assist with projects and operations, and today is the President/CEO of this bourgeoning non-profit.
Contact people:
Office fax number: (585) 273-1348
Address:
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206 Gavett Hall, University Of Rochester
Rochester, NY 14627
(See a map) |
Web Site: http://www.aheadenergy.org/
Directions:
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From: Main St W, Rochester, NY
Drive: 3.3 mi (about 9 mins)
1. Head west on W Main St/RT-33 toward Canal St, 0.7 mi 1 min
2. Turn left at Genesee St, 1.7 mi 5 mins
3. Turn left at Elmwood Ave, 0.9 mi 3. . . (more) |
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