Research Centers

Clean Energy and Sustainability Analytics Center (CESAC)

The Clean Energy and Sustainability Analytics Center is a public research and technical assistance center that facilitates innovative research, technology and sustainability solutions. The Center provides research, education programs, and support to address complex local to global challenges. Our approach is rooted in collaborative partnerships along with long-term environmental and economic solutions moving towards a sustainable future. The Center advances sustainable energy solutions, promotes initiatives and implements practices that foster collaboration between industry, government, and academia and translate research into practical applications.

cesac@montclair.edu
973-655-3979
Overlook Corporate Center, 150 Clove Road, Suite 200B, Little Falls, NJ 07424 & Center for Computing and Information Science, Suite 116
cesacmsu

CESAC Utility Regulatory Training (Rate School)

An intensive professional development program designed to equip utility practitioners and public sector professionals with a strong understanding of utility regulation and ratemaking principles. The course comprises structured sessions over five days, featuring expert-led lectures, real-world case studies and mock cases, and hands-on practical exercises delivered by leading industry experts, regulators, and academic professionals.

Achieving the Center's Goals

  • Encourages collaborative partnerships between stakeholders and policymakers.
  • Gather and analyze data to develop sustainable pathways that can be used for informed decision making.
  • Innovative energy, environmental, economic modeling that can be used for energy and environmental planning. .
  • Foster faculty and student research in the area of energy and sustainability analytics.
  • Assist policymakers, businesses and organizations in developing initiatives in the state and beyond
  • Act as an information resource hub regarding state regulatory and incentive policies.

Vision

Our vision is to develop a multidisciplinary community of researchers, experts, and citizens to advance energy and sustainability knowledge, solutions, and impact for a thriving, equitable and resilient future.

Mission

Harness the power of collaborative research and advanced analytics to advance global sustainability, energy technologies and data-driven solutions through research, partnerships, and education initiatives that promote healthier and more prosperous communities.


The Center provides support to businesses and start-ups,  government, civic leaders, NGOs, multilateral institutions. The technical expertise  and facility support are provided in areas such as government and corporate policies, energy technology, sustainable energy transition, smart systems, energy efficiency, energy security, sensors, artificial intelligence, IoT-based energy management systems, machine learning, climate analytics, grid resiliency, natural resource conservation and  management, environmental and economic modeling, waste management, data  mining, and database Systems, ESG (Environmental  Social &  Governance), collaborative robotics for energy & environmental  solutions, sustainability marketing, disease and pest modeling, nature based solutions, decarbonization strategies, equity and environmental justice, opinion and behavioral research.

Capabilities

CESAC Director Dr. Pankaj Lal presenting at a conference

Research and Advisory Services

Our experienced research team uses cutting edge research to provide actionable, science based insights to our clients. We assist clients in achieving their needs and desired clean energy outcomes for a variety of projects. We help to identify the factors that may influence economic and environmental implications of a projects, including, policy and sustainability relevance, market dynamics, and stakeholder impacts. We undertake applied analyses to advise our clients and recommend ideal implementation strategies.

CESAC members taking a tour of the campus energy plant

Modeling and Analytics

The CESAC team has extensive experience with various modeling and analysis techniques that could be applied to a variety of projects and contexts. We excel in applying existing methods, adapting models for novel purposes, and developing new ones to satisfy project requirements. Using a variety of techniques including economy-wide models, geospatial models, behavioral models, resilience analysis, financial models, emission and energy models, and data analytics at different stages of the project life cycle. We provide timely and accurate analyses for our clients.

Prahlad Burli presenting at the CESAC Summit

Engagement and Outreach

The CESAC team has considerable experience in engagement and outreach stemming from a wide range of research projects. We are capable of both targeted outreach to assist specific groups on projects, which aim to inform stakeholders on clean energy and sustainability initiatives. Using tools like surveys, including paper-based and web based dissemination platforms, workshops, meetings, as well as social media, we tailor our approach to individual projects to maximize impact.

table at STEM night event

Education and Training

The CESAC team constantly works to stay up to date on most current research, across academia and industry, in order to gain unmatched perspective on clean energy projects. We specialize in making learning accessible for students, stakeholders, and clients, via a variety of media, including presentations, webinars, and publications. As a part of our educational initiatives, we offer training services and capacity building for our clients. We strive to impart best practices in a number of clean energy disciplines, and tailor our expertise to ensure effective skill development for our clients.